http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&blog_id=181157A window into the heart and mind of the Senior Pastor for Harvest Bible Chapel Calgary.EN-USCopyright &#xA9; 2010 Harvest Bible Chapel - Calgaryhttp://www.triplePixel.comSat, 07 Aug 2010 19:00:00 GMTTrevor PeacockA window into the heart and mind of the Senior Pastor for Harvest Bible Chapel Calgary.Trevor Peacocktrevsouth@hotmail.comnohttp://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=218279http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=218279Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Psalm 1 speaks of there being two paths men are on. The one is the man who walks in the counsel of the wicked, stands in the way of sinners and sits in the seat of scoffers. The other is the man who <strong>delights in the law of the Lord </strong>and he meditates day and night on it. The psalmist then goes on to explain the results of following each and reveals what their end is.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">First, we need to note that there is <strong>no middle ground</strong>. There is not good counsel available from the wicked, or sinners, or scoffers that does not first find itself in the Word of God. In other words any counsel that does not agree with God’s Word is not to be followed.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Which path are you on? Whose counsel do you follow? If you have been a follower of Christ for very long, then I think you would agree that it is all too <strong>easy to follow the counsel of the wicked</strong>. In fact it is our “default” position. If you are not diligent to spend time in the Word daily, it does not take long before you are beginning to adopt thinking and living based off of counsel from the world rather than the Word of God. The change does not drastically, but rather happens slowly as you begin to slide down a slippery slope. Your focus and goals change. <strong>Happiness becomes more important than holiness</strong>. Your kingdom becomes more important than God’s kingdom. Your thoughts seem higher than God’s thoughts. It is not until you get back into God’s Word that you realize how far you have strayed in your thinking and your lifestyle.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" style="width: 248px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Children%20Teaching.jpg" /><br /> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Brothers and sisters in the Lord we must <strong>heed the warnings of this Psalm</strong>. Pastors we also must heed the warnings of this Psalm. Do we make much of the Word of God? Do we delight in the Words of God? Churches who have lost their way, are churches that have turned their back on the Word and have adopted the counsel of the wicked. The results are clear! They will be like chaff that the wind drives away and they will not stand in the judgment. (Psalm 1:4,5)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Be careful to <strong>be daily in the Word</strong>! Take care to make sure that it happens in your home and in your church. Have someone who holds you accountable. Keep your Pastors accountable to preach from the Word each week. We need to hear, “thus saith the Lord” weekly! If we do we are told that we be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I close by quoting from Isaiah "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; <strong>it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it</strong>.” (Is.55:10,11)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">If you have been encouraged to get in the Word daily and would like help developing a reading plan then please let me know. I would love to help you out!</p>Psalm 1 speaks of there being two paths men are on. The one is the man who walks in the counsel of the wicked, stands in the way of sinners and sits in the seat of scoffers. The other is the man who delights in the law of the Lord and he meditates day and night on it. The psalmist then goes on to explain the results of following each and reveals what their end is. First, we need to note that there is no middle ground . There is not good counsel available from the wicked, or sinners, or scoffers that does not first find itself in the Word of God. In other words any counsel that does not agree with God’s Word is not to be followed. Which path are you on? Whose counsel do you follow? If you have been a follower of Christ for very long, then I think you would agree that it is all too easy to follow the counsel of the wicked . In fact it is our “default” position. If you are not diligent to spend time in the Word daily, it does not take long before you are beginning to adopt thinking and living based off of counsel from the world rather than the Word of God. The change does not drastically, but rather happens slowly as you begin to slide down a slippery slope. Your focus and goals change. Happiness becomes more important than holiness . Your kingdom becomes more important than God’s kingdom. Your thoughts seem higher than God’s thoughts. It is not until you get back into God’s Word that you realize how far you have strayed in your thinking and your lifestyle. Brothers and sisters in the Lord we must heed the warnings of this Psalm . Pastors we also must heed the warnings of this Psalm. Do we make much of the Word of God? Do we delight in the Words of God? Churches who have lost their way, are churches that have turned their back on the Word and have adopted the counsel of the wicked. The results are clear! They will be like chaff that the wind drives away and they will not stand in the judgment. (Psalm 1:4,5) Be careful to be daily in the Word ! Take care to make sure that it happens in your home and in your church. Have someone who holds you accountable. Keep your Pastors accountable to preach from the Word each week. We need to hear, “thus saith the Lord” weekly! If we do we are told that we be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3) I close by quoting from Isaiah "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it .” (Is.55:10,11) If you have been encouraged to get in the Word daily and would like help developing a reading plan then please let me know. I would love to help you out!218279http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/218279-thumbnail.jpg?1008070802http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=215686http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=215686Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:00:00 GMT <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">    A few weeks ago we looked at the importance of forgiveness. We all are in desperate need of it and without it we are eternally condemned. Those who are true followers of Christ understand well their <strong>need for forgiveness</strong>. However, they are not always quick to extend forgiveness to their fellow man. Christ illustrated the foolishness and wickedness of this with a parable. (Matthew 18:21-35) In the parable there is a servant who has an unpayable debt owed to a king. He asks for patience from the king, saying that he would pay him back. The king was merciful and forgave him his debt. However, having been forgiven an unpayable debt the servant does not respond to his fellow servant in the same way. He does not forgive the debt owed him and has his fellow servant thrown into prison. The king then hears what has happened and has the unmerciful servant thrown into jail until he should repay the debt. (Remember that this debt was unpayable) The consequences were great for the unmerciful servant! Jesus ends the parable by saying, “<em>So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart</em>.” These are <strong>sobering words for anyone who is not willing to forgive </strong>their fellowman. These words are repeated in Matt.6:12-15 in the Lord’s prayer and commanded in other verses in the New Testament (Col.3:13; Eph.4:32). Forgiveness is not an option for the believer.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" style="width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/8529d.JPG" /></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em>Photo courtesy of Harley Winborn </em></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>Our sins can be completely forgiven through Christ. (Ps.103:12)</strong><br /> <br /> The book “The Self Confrontation Manual” outlines how forgiveness is lived out.</p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>Forgiveness in Action</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><strong><i>1.      </i><i>Keeps no record of wrongs</i></strong></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">1 Cor.13:5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (the Greek word for irritable includes the meaning of not keeping track of wrongs committed)</p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><strong><i>2.      </i><i>Not a gossip about a person’s sins to others</i></strong></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">Eph. 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><strong><i>3.      </i><i>Not dwell on the offense yourself</i></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Phil.4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><strong><i>4.      </i><i>Restore fellowship with the forgiven person or the offender, as far as is biblically possible</i></strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Rom.12:18,19 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. <b>¹⁹</b> Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It may be that the person who offended you is unrepentant. The transaction of forgiveness can not then happen. You are able to forgive them before the Lord, but if the person is not willing to repent and change then there can be no restoration of the relationship.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ie David and Saul…Saul at times even spoke of repentance, but there was no repentance and the relationship was never restored. David trusted the Lord to deal with the sin of Saul and yet he did not move back to the palace, because he knew the heart of Saul.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><strong>5.      Loving God without loving people is an impossibility (1 John 4:20,21). Forgiveness should include comforting those who have sinned and repented, as well as reaffirming your love to them. (2 Cor.2:6-8)</strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><strong>6.      Forgiveness is to be granted when requested without limitation (Matt.18:21,22)</strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">    It is the Lord’s desire that the body of Christ be united.(John 17:20-26) There can be no unity without forgiveness. We will inevitably sin against one another, but we need to be a people who are quick to repent and a people who are quick to repent. We need to be people who are eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. (Eph.4:3) We can forgive, because we have been forgiven. We would not understand what true forgiveness is without having experienced the forgiveness of God. When we truly grasp how much we have been forgiven, we will be a lot quicker to forgive. As we forgive we are able to pursue being the kind of church that God wants us to be. I conclude this blog with the words written by Peter in (1 Peter 3:8).<strong> “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” </strong></p>A few weeks ago we looked at the importance of forgiveness. We all are in desperate need of it and without it we are eternally condemned. Those who are true followers of Christ understand well their need for forgiveness . However, they are not always quick to extend forgiveness to their fellow man. Christ illustrated the foolishness and wickedness of this with a parable. (Matthew 18:21-35) In the parable there is a servant who has an unpayable debt owed to a king. He asks for patience from the king, saying that he would pay him back. The king was merciful and forgave him his debt. However, having been forgiven an unpayable debt the servant does not respond to his fellow servant in the same way. He does not forgive the debt owed him and has his fellow servant thrown into prison. The king then hears what has happened and has the unmerciful servant thrown into jail until he should repay the debt. (Remember that this debt was unpayable) The consequences were great for the unmerciful servant! Jesus ends the parable by saying, “ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart .” These are sobering words for anyone who is not willing to forgive their fellowman. These words are repeated in Matt.6:12-15 in the Lord’s prayer and commanded in other verses in the New Testament (Col.3:13; Eph.4:32). Forgiveness is not an option for the believer. Photo courtesy of Harley Winborn Our sins can be completely forgiven through Christ. (Ps.103:12) The book “The Self Confrontation Manual” outlines how forgiveness is lived out. Forgiveness in Action 1. Keeps no record of wrongs 1 Cor.13:5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (the Greek word for irritable includes the meaning of not keeping track of wrongs committed) 2. Not a gossip about a person’s sins to others Eph. 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” 3. Not dwell on the offense yourself Phil.4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” 4. Restore fellowship with the forgiven person or the offender, as far as is biblically possible Rom.12:18,19 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” It may be that the person who offended you is unrepentant. The transaction of forgiveness can not then happen. You are able to forgive them before the Lord, but if the person is not willing to repent and change then there can be no restoration of the relationship. Ie David and Saul…Saul at times even spoke of repentance, but there was no repentance and the relationship was never restored. David trusted the Lord to deal with the sin of Saul and yet he did not move back to the palace, because he knew the heart of Saul. 5. Loving God without loving people is an impossibility (1 John 4:20,21). Forgiveness should include comforting those who have sinned and repented, as well as reaffirming your love to them. (2 Cor.2:6-8) 6. Forgiveness is to be granted when requested without limitation (Matt.18:21,22) It is the Lord’s desire that the body of Christ be...215686http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/215686-thumbnail.jpg?1007060553http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=213793http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=213793Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:00:00 GMTRather, ironically I just spent two hours writing a blog on priorities only for it to disappear into thin air. So the question is whether or not writing this blog should be a priority? There are many things that I need to be and should be doing. So I have reached a compromise, so to speak. I believe that this is an important blog so I will rewrite it, although with brevity. There are many of us who go week after week and life just kinda happens to us. Our days are on an escalator and we are along for the ride. Many days we look back and have regrets about how we spent our time and wish that we could have that time back so we might do things better. However, our regret rarely brings us to a crisis where we actually do anything about it.<br /> <br /> Yet, there is a crisis. How many have been led away from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ? (2 Cor.11:3) I believe many are so caught up in the rat race of life and the things of this world that we have lost our focus. How many of us can say Christ IS our life (Col.3:4)? If we can't, then we need to stop making excuses and start prioritizing our lives accordingly.<br /> <br /> What were the priorities of those in the early church?  There are 4 things I want to highlight that need to be part of our daily lives.<br /> <br /> 1. Be Devoted to Prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42, 6:4; Eph.6:18; Rom.12:12; Col.4:2)<br /> <br /> 2. Be Devoted to the Word (Acts 2:42; 1 Tim.4:13; 2 Tim.3:16)<br /> <img alt="" style="width: 100px; height: 134px;" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/holy%20bible.jpg" /><br /> <br /> 3. Be Devoted to Fellowship (Acts 2:42; Heb.10:24,25)<br /> <br /> 4. Be Devoted to Good Works (2 cor.9:8; Eph.2:10; Col. 1:10; Titus 2:7,14, 3:8, 14; 1 Peter 2:12)<br /> <br /> These are things that need to be priorities in our lives if we are going to live in devotion to Christ. How does your life measure up against these priorities? If you are not sure, then keep track for a week where you spend your time. Record each hour what you've done. At the end of that time, you will see where your priorities are. Are they what you want them to be? If they are not, then schedule into the following week those things that you know should be your priorities. It may mean less sleep or less leisure time. . . it may even mean some drastic changes in what your family does each week. But. . . it will be more than worth it! Something I heard said years ago still applies today. If someone arrested you for being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Prioritize your life accordingly!!Rather, ironically I just spent two hours writing a blog on priorities only for it to disappear into thin air. So the question is whether or not writing this blog should be a priority? There are many things that I need to be and should be doing. So I have reached a compromise, so to speak. I believe that this is an important blog so I will rewrite it, although with brevity. There are many of us who go week after week and life just kinda happens to us. Our days are on an escalator and we are along for the ride. Many days we look back and have regrets about how we spent our time and wish that we could have that time back so we might do things better. However, our regret rarely brings us to a crisis where we actually do anything about it. Yet, there is a crisis. How many have been led away from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ? (2 Cor.11:3) I believe many are so caught up in the rat race of life and the things of this world that we have lost our focus. How many of us can say Christ IS our life (Col.3:4)? If we can't, then we need to stop making excuses and start prioritizing our lives accordingly. What were the priorities of those in the early church? There are 4 things I want to highlight that need to be part of our daily lives. 1. Be Devoted to Prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42, 6:4; Eph.6:18; Rom.12:12; Col.4:2) 2. Be Devoted to the Word (Acts 2:42; 1 Tim.4:13; 2 Tim.3:16) 3. Be Devoted to Fellowship (Acts 2:42; Heb.10:24,25) 4. Be Devoted to Good Works (2 cor.9:8; Eph.2:10; Col. 1:10; Titus 2:7,14, 3:8, 14; 1 Peter 2:12) These are things that need to be priorities in our lives if we are going to live in devotion to Christ. How does your life measure up against these priorities? If you are not sure, then keep track for a week where you spend your time. Record each hour what you've done. At the end of that time, you will see where your priorities are. Are they what you want them to be? If they are not, then schedule into the following week those things that you know should be your priorities. It may mean less sleep or less leisure time. . . it may even mean some drastic changes in what your family does each week. But. . . it will be more than worth it! Something I heard said years ago still applies today. If someone arrested you for being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Prioritize your life accordingly!!213793http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/213793-thumbnail.jpg?1006170933http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=213016http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=213016Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:00:00 GMT <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Yesterday, we looked at the importance of kindness in the church. Today, I would like to take that a step further. The Bible is clear that we are to show kindness to one another in the body of Christ. We are too good to everyone, but especially the household of faith. The many verses that we looked at yesterday highlighted the need to show kindness to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to those we know. </p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">However, <b>we are also to show kindness to strangers</b>. We translate the Greek word <b>φιλόξενος</b><b> </b>and get our English word hospitality. The Greek word is actually two words put together. The first word is philos which is a Greek word for love, or a friend. The second word is xenos which is a word for stranger. Thus the word means a friend to strangers or loving to strangers, kind to strangers.</p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Romans 12:13 says that one should seek to show hospitality. The idea here is to pursue, to do something with intense effort and with definite purpose or goal—‘to do with effort, to strive toward. <a href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">^{^[1]}</a> We need to be intentional in our pursuit of being hospitable. It doesn’t just happen. We need to purpose to be a people who pursues being hospitable.<b> Harvest, will we be a church that is hospitable? Will be a church that shows kindness and love to strangers.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" style="width: 700px; height: 525px;" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Hospitality%201.jpg" /><br /> </b></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">When looking at someone who would be qualified as an elder in our church we see that he must be one who is hospitable. An elder should be one who is kind to strangers, one who is a friend to strangers. (1 Tim.3:2; Titus 1:7,8)</p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The writer of Hebrews highlights it’s importance when he tells them that there are some who <b>have entertained angels</b> when they showed hospitality to strangers.( Heb.13:2) We need to be a church that does not neglect showing hospitality to strangers. When we do show hospitality we need to do it with the right heart attitude. Peter writes that we need to show hospitality without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9) How many people do the right thing with the wrong heart, which ultimately defeats what was to be accomplished. Let us be hospitable with joy and thankfulness<b>. It is our opportunity and privilege to serve God in this way</b>. Who knows what eternal good could come about by our showing hospitality! Harvest let us not neglect the importance of hospitality!!</p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <div><br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <div id="ftn1"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">^{^[1]}</a>Louw, J. P., &amp; Nida, E. A. (1996, c1989). <i>Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains</i> (electronic ed. of the 2nd<br />  <br /> edition.) (1:662). New York: United Bible societies.</p> </div> </div>Yesterday, we looked at the importance of kindness in the church. Today, I would like to take that a step further. The Bible is clear that we are to show kindness to one another in the body of Christ. We are too good to everyone, but especially the household of faith. The many verses that we looked at yesterday highlighted the need to show kindness to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to those we know. However, we are also to show kindness to strangers . We translate the Greek word φιλόξενος and get our English word hospitality. The Greek word is actually two words put together. The first word is philos which is a Greek word for love, or a friend. The second word is xenos which is a word for stranger. Thus the word means a friend to strangers or loving to strangers, kind to strangers. Romans 12:13 says that one should seek to show hospitality. The idea here is to pursue, to do something with intense effort and with definite purpose or goal—‘to do with effort, to strive toward. [1] We need to be intentional in our pursuit of being hospitable. It doesn’t just happen. We need to purpose to be a people who pursues being hospitable. Harvest, will we be a church that is hospitable? Will be a church that shows kindness and love to strangers. When looking at someone who would be qualified as an elder in our church we see that he must be one who is hospitable. An elder should be one who is kind to strangers, one who is a friend to strangers. (1 Tim.3:2; Titus 1:7,8) The writer of Hebrews highlights it’s importance when he tells them that there are some who have entertained angels when they showed hospitality to strangers.( Heb.13:2) We need to be a church that does not neglect showing hospitality to strangers. When we do show hospitality we need to do it with the right heart attitude. Peter writes that we need to show hospitality without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9) How many people do the right thing with the wrong heart, which ultimately defeats what was to be accomplished. Let us be hospitable with joy and thankfulness . It is our opportunity and privilege to serve God in this way . Who knows what eternal good could come about by our showing hospitality! Harvest let us not neglect the importance of hospitality!! [1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996, c1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (1:662). New York: United Bible societies.213016http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/213016-thumbnail.jpg?1006100513http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212897http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212897Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:00:00 GMT <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Every one of us in the church has ministry to do. While we may function in different roles we all have ministry responsibilities. <b>NEVER, EVER,</b> should it be said that there is no ministry to be done. It should never be said, “we currently don’t have anywhere for you to serve”. There is always ministry to be done. While many of us have grown up in churches where ministry has been seen as a position there can be a tendency to think that only the mature and talented can do ministry. However, we miss out on so much when we think of ministry as a position. Everyday there is ministry to be done and everyone that is a believer is equipped to do this ministry, because you are filled with the Holy Spirit.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ministry is done through the power of the Spirit. We are to be people that are characterized by the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal.5:22,23) This is how we are to function around one another and throughout our week in contrast to the list that preceded it. The fruit that I want to focus on particularly is the<strong> fruit of kindness</strong>.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Why is it that I can go to Disneyland I see more smiling faces and people who are kind to me then I find in a lot of churches? From the people who pick you up at the parking lot, to the people you buy tickets from, to the people who check you in, to the staff who run the rides, work at the food places, to the characters...all the staff is taught to be kind...if you don’t you lose your job. <b>If we are not a kind church we ought to close our doors</b>, <b>because we are not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit.</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">What does the Bible say about kindness? The Old Testament shows that <b>kindness is to be pursued</b>. “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. (Job 6:14) Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honour. (Prov.21:21) Describing the godly woman the proverbs read, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”(Prov.31:26) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, (Zech 7:9)<br /> <br /> <img style="width: 400px; height: 267px;" alt="The Rainbow Reminds Us of God's Kindness" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/4689d.JPG" /><br /> (Photo from Harley J Winborn)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The New Testament shows that kindness is not only to be shown to our friends and family, because <b>God is kind to all</b>.  “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” (Luke 6:35) “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” (1 Cor.13:4) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” (Gal.5:22) “Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph.4:32) Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (Col.3:12) </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This list of verses is by no means all the verses that speak of the importance of kindness. <b>Kindness is important to God. Is it important to you? Is your church known for its kindness?</b> Do people see your kindness in your words, in your disposition towards them and in your actions towards them? Everyone in our church needs to be exhibiting the fruit of the spirit of kindness. This is something that is a fruit of the spirit and to be truly impacting it needs to be an overflow of your walk with the Lord. But we need to be intentional to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. <b>Harvest lets be a church that is marked by its kindness! People need to be ministered too!</b></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p>Every one of us in the church has ministry to do. While we may function in different roles we all have ministry responsibilities. NEVER, EVER, should it be said that there is no ministry to be done. It should never be said, “we currently don’t have anywhere for you to serve”. There is always ministry to be done. While many of us have grown up in churches where ministry has been seen as a position there can be a tendency to think that only the mature and talented can do ministry. However, we miss out on so much when we think of ministry as a position. Everyday there is ministry to be done and everyone that is a believer is equipped to do this ministry, because you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Ministry is done through the power of the Spirit. We are to be people that are characterized by the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal.5:22,23) This is how we are to function around one another and throughout our week in contrast to the list that preceded it. The fruit that I want to focus on particularly is the fruit of kindness . Why is it that I can go to Disneyland I see more smiling faces and people who are kind to me then I find in a lot of churches? From the people who pick you up at the parking lot, to the people you buy tickets from, to the people who check you in, to the staff who run the rides, work at the food places, to the characters...all the staff is taught to be kind...if you don’t you lose your job. If we are not a kind church we ought to close our doors , because we are not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. What does the Bible say about kindness? The Old Testament shows that kindness is to be pursued . “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. (Job 6:14) Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honour. (Prov.21:21) Describing the godly woman the proverbs read, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”(Prov.31:26) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, (Zech 7:9) (Photo from Harley J Winborn) The New Testament shows that kindness is not only to be shown to our friends and family, because God is kind to all . “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” (Luke 6:35) “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” (1 Cor.13:4) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.” (Gal.5:22) “Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph.4:32) Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (Col.3:12) This list of verses is by no means all the verses that speak of the importance of kindness. Kindness is important to God. Is it important to you? Is your church known for its kindness? Do people see your kindness in your words, in your disposition towards them and in your actions towards them? Everyone in our church needs to...212897http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/212897-thumbnail.jpg?1006090326http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212221http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212221Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Eph.4:11-16 reminds us of one of the key central purposes of the church. The goal of the church is the maturity of disciples. At HBC Calgary our mission is to see lost people saved, saved people matured, matured people multiplied...to the glory of God. As we see from this passage in Ephesians one of the primary ways that men and women are matured is by speaking the truth in love. What does that look like?</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">If we were to say it another way we could say it involves <strong>saying the right thing with the right action and the right motive</strong>.<br /> <br /> <strong>What is Truth?</strong><br /> <br /> Pilate when speaking to Jesus asked a question that all people ask at one time or another. What is truth? (John 18:38) If I am to speak the truth in love I first need to determine what is truth. You will hear people say, what is true for you may not be truth for me. They live with the thinking that there is no such thing as absolute truth when it comes to living. I can not disagree more. I believe that <strong>there is absolute truth</strong>. That truth is found in God's Word. (Ps.119:60, Is.40:8) That truth is found in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). I may not like the things I read in God's Word. It may be convicting, it might make me uncomfortable, but none of that changes the fact that God's Word is true. I can either submit to it or deny it, but I will be judged according to the truth found in His Word. If I am to speak the truth in love, I need to make sure that what I am saying to someone is <strong>Biblically supported</strong>.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" style="width: 280px; height: 175px;" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Truth%20and%20Love.jpg" /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>What is love?</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Something that is often said at Harvest is that God’s love is not a pampering love, it is a perfecting love (God disciplines those who He loves (Heb.12:6) Love does not say I will give you whatever you want and I will say whatever you want. Parents with children know the importance of not giving their children whatever they want. My youngest would live on bread and candy if we were to let her have whatever she wanted. I'm sure by 18 she would be regretting that her mom and dad had not spoke the truth in love to her and told her that she needed to expand her food tastes. Love says the tough things, the truthful things even when it is unpopular.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Love says I am going to lay aside my desires for someone to like me out of my love for you. Love compels me to say it...even it jeopardizes our relationship. (Prov.14:25) I realize especially in our day that being bold and being truthful is going to be seen as unloving.  But what does the Bible say…speak the truth in love. Prov.27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Profuse means abundant)<strong> A true friend will tell you the hard things </strong>with the hope that you will become more like Christ, that you will mature in your walk with Him. Speaking the truth in love doesn’t mean cutting the truth in half. (Zech.8:14-17) We are to speak the truth to one another, the whole truth, anything else is really a lie.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong>Love will not procrastinate</strong>...speak the truth in love now, don't put it off. However, when you do speak, make sure you know all the facts...don’t speak in a vacuum. If you don’t know all the facts, don’t approach the person as if you do. Tell them what your concerns are and allow them to clarify the facts. This should be obvious, but the loving thing is to go to the person not everybody else under the disguise of a prayer request. (gossip!)<br /> <br /> Lastly, what should your response be when someone is speaking the truth to you in love. We need to welcome it in humility. (Ps.141:5)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I realize two things going through this topic with you. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>This is counter cultural and that this is not easy!</b></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Ask God to give you courage to do the right thing when needing to speak the truth in love and the humility to receive instruction. Don't put off doing the right thing, but do it when you have the time to work things through (not when you need to rush away). Be people of prayer.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Our church <strong>needs to embrace the value! It has to be held high. Do you want to be a church that is growing quality disciples? Do you want to be mature in Christ? Do you want each part of the body of Christ operating properly? We need to, we have to, speak the truth in love to one another. (Heb.10:24,25)</strong></p>Eph.4:11-16 reminds us of one of the key central purposes of the church. The goal of the church is the maturity of disciples. At HBC Calgary our mission is to see lost people saved, saved people matured, matured people multiplied...to the glory of God. As we see from this passage in Ephesians one of the primary ways that men and women are matured is by speaking the truth in love. What does that look like? If we were to say it another way we could say it involves saying the right thing with the right action and the right motive . What is Truth? Pilate when speaking to Jesus asked a question that all people ask at one time or another. What is truth? (John 18:38) If I am to speak the truth in love I first need to determine what is truth. You will hear people say, what is true for you may not be truth for me. They live with the thinking that there is no such thing as absolute truth when it comes to living. I can not disagree more. I believe that there is absolute truth . That truth is found in God's Word. (Ps.119:60, Is.40:8) That truth is found in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). I may not like the things I read in God's Word. It may be convicting, it might make me uncomfortable, but none of that changes the fact that God's Word is true. I can either submit to it or deny it, but I will be judged according to the truth found in His Word. If I am to speak the truth in love, I need to make sure that what I am saying to someone is Biblically supported . What is love? Something that is often said at Harvest is that God’s love is not a pampering love, it is a perfecting love (God disciplines those who He loves (Heb.12:6) Love does not say I will give you whatever you want and I will say whatever you want. Parents with children know the importance of not giving their children whatever they want. My youngest would live on bread and candy if we were to let her have whatever she wanted. I'm sure by 18 she would be regretting that her mom and dad had not spoke the truth in love to her and told her that she needed to expand her food tastes. Love says the tough things, the truthful things even when it is unpopular. Love says I am going to lay aside my desires for someone to like me out of my love for you. Love compels me to say it...even it jeopardizes our relationship. (Prov.14:25) I realize especially in our day that being bold and being truthful is going to be seen as unloving. But what does the Bible say…speak the truth in love. Prov.27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Profuse means abundant) A true friend will tell you the hard things with the hope that you will become more like Christ, that you will mature in your walk with Him. Speaking the truth in love doesn’t mean cutting the truth in half. (Zech.8:14-17) We are to speak the truth to one another, the whole truth, anything else is really a lie. Love will not procrastinate ...speak the truth in love now, don't put it off. However, when you do speak, make sure you know all the facts...don’t speak in a vacuum. If you don’t know all the facts, don’t approach the person as if you do. Tell them what your concerns are and allow them to clarify the facts. This should be obvious, but the loving thing is to go to the person not everybody else under the disguise of a prayer request. (gossip!) Lastly, what should your response be when someone is speaking the truth to you in love. We need to welcome it in humility. (Ps.141:5) I realize two things going through this...212221http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/212221-thumbnail.jpg?1006020144http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212067http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=212067Mon, 31 May 2010 19:00:00 GMT <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <b>How Would You Define Biblical Love?<br /> <br /> Let me share with you some of the things that I have seen and heard in the church over the last 20 years.<br /> <br /> </b> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>1</b>) Biblical love does not offend. (disciples were concerned with offending -Matt.15:12)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>2</b>) Biblical love does not judge. (Matt.7:1) Judge not lest you be judged! </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b>3</b>) Biblical love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) Interpretation: We should ignore the sin we see in others…cover it up so to speak.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Is this an accurate picture of what Biblical love is? If so then these are the things that we need to strive for in our church. We need to make every effort not to offend, not to judge and not to point out sin in another’s life.<br /> <br /> <img width="378" height="222" alt="" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Truth%20and%20Love.jpg" /></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Let me suggest to you that our culture has defined how we read those verses…not a proper understanding of the context and the original intent of the author. A text can not mean what it has not meant. (We can not say when these words were written 2000 years ago in meant X, but now in our day it means Y. <b>There may be different ways to apply the truth, but the truth does not change.</b>)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.5pt;"><b>1.      </b><em>Biblical love does not offend</em>…Jesus offended (Matt.15:10-19) The Gospel offends those who are perishing. (1 Cor.1:20-25) Now are we to be offensive people in our conduct. By no means but our message will be offensive. So our <b>greatest concern is not to be non offensive, but rather to speak truth. </b>This does not give license for people to be offensive in their actions or conduct, but the truth may offend.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.5pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.5pt;"><b>2.      </b><em>Biblical love does not judge.</em> There are plenty of Scriptures that seem to contradict Matthew 7:1, so what is Jesus talking about then. He is referring to the self-righteous judgment that was prominent in His day and is still seen in the church today. The kind of person who believes that they have reached perfection and that it is their job to point out the sin of everyone around them. This person is self-deceived and their sin is much more dangerous, because they do not recognize their sin. We can never come to another with any kind of pride, because we are fellow sinners until we should depart from this earth. However, a man in proper humility will come to his brother to help him with his speck in his eye. (Anyone ever had something in their eye…comfortable or not…it drives you crazy right…he still needs help) But we come out of love and concern not as a hypocritical judge. (James 5:19,20; Gal.6:1; Matt.18:15)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 40.5pt;"><b>3.      </b><em>Biblical Love Covers a Multitude of Sins</em> 1 Peter 4:8 This is to be interrupted not as an ignoring of the sin, but rather as a forgiving of the sin. The Lord’s prayer makes it clear that we are to forgive just as we have been forgiven by the Lord. This is the sense that Biblical love covers a multitude of sins.<br /> <br /> Next we will look at what Biblical love looks like in the context of speaking the truth in love .</p>How Would You Define Biblical Love? Let me share with you some of the things that I have seen and heard in the church over the last 20 years. 1 ) Biblical love does not offend. (disciples were concerned with offending -Matt.15:12) 2 ) Biblical love does not judge. (Matt.7:1) Judge not lest you be judged! 3 ) Biblical love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) Interpretation: We should ignore the sin we see in others…cover it up so to speak. Is this an accurate picture of what Biblical love is? If so then these are the things that we need to strive for in our church. We need to make every effort not to offend, not to judge and not to point out sin in another’s life. Let me suggest to you that our culture has defined how we read those verses…not a proper understanding of the context and the original intent of the author. A text can not mean what it has not meant. (We can not say when these words were written 2000 years ago in meant X, but now in our day it means Y. There may be different ways to apply the truth, but the truth does not change. ) 1. Biblical love does not offend …Jesus offended (Matt.15:10-19) The Gospel offends those who are perishing. (1 Cor.1:20-25) Now are we to be offensive people in our conduct. By no means but our message will be offensive. So our greatest concern is not to be non offensive, but rather to speak truth. This does not give license for people to be offensive in their actions or conduct, but the truth may offend. 2. Biblical love does not judge. There are plenty of Scriptures that seem to contradict Matthew 7:1, so what is Jesus talking about then. He is referring to the self-righteous judgment that was prominent in His day and is still seen in the church today. The kind of person who believes that they have reached perfection and that it is their job to point out the sin of everyone around them. This person is self-deceived and their sin is much more dangerous, because they do not recognize their sin. We can never come to another with any kind of pride, because we are fellow sinners until we should depart from this earth. However, a man in proper humility will come to his brother to help him with his speck in his eye. (Anyone ever had something in their eye…comfortable or not…it drives you crazy right…he still needs help) But we come out of love and concern not as a hypocritical judge. (James 5:19,20; Gal.6:1; Matt.18:15) 3. Biblical Love Covers a Multitude of Sins 1 Peter 4:8 This is to be interrupted not as an ignoring of the sin, but rather as a forgiving of the sin. The Lord’s prayer makes it clear that we are to forgive just as we have been forgiven by the Lord. This is the sense that Biblical love covers a multitude of sins. Next we will look at what Biblical love looks like in the context of speaking the truth in love .212067http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/212067-thumbnail.jpg?1005310258http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=211564http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=211564Tue, 25 May 2010 21:00:00 GMT <p>One of the questions that J.C. Ryle asked repeatedly in his booklet "A Call to Pray" was," <strong>Do you pray?</strong>". These three words are challenging to the average Christian today. When I ask that question I am not talking about the quick prayer that we put before meals, when we're in a bind or rushing off somewhere. I am talking about quiet, uninterrupted prayer. A time when we are alone and focused on the King of Kings. If this is not a habit in your life, let me suggest to you that it needs to be. If we truly understood prayer's importance, I dare suggest it would move way up on our priority list. At our last launch team meeting we looked at<b> 5 facts </b>in regards to prayer that have motivated me to move it up on my priority list and I pray we will motivate you to do the same.</p> <p><strong>1. Believers Pray<br /> </strong></p> <ul> <li>As you search the pages of Scripture from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, you see that the people of God pray. In fact they make it a priority. We see men like Daniel, David and Jesus (the Son of God) taking time in their day to get alone and pray to the Lord. We see the priority of prayer in the church in the book of Acts (Acts 1:24, Acts 4:31, Acts 6:6, Acts 10:9 etc). Paul, Peter, James and John alll mention the importance of praying in their epistles. Paul often requests prayer and tells of how he is praying for those to whom he is writing to. </li> <li>It signifies who is godly (1 Pet.1:17, 1 Cor.1:2) and ungodly (Ps.14:4). </li> </ul> <p><strong>2. Prayer is Not Just Empty Words<br /> </strong></p> <ul> <li>The Lord is not interested in prayers that pay Him lip service only. There was plenty of prayer going on while Jesus was here on this earth. There were men who prayed to be seen by others (Matt.6:5). There were those who "heaped up empty phrases" thinking that they would be heard because of their many words. (Matt.6:7) Jesus quoted the words found in the book of Isaiah when showing where the people were really at. He said that the people honored Him with their lips, but that their hearts were far from Him. (Matt.15:8,9) <strong>God is not interested in mere words.</strong> He looks on the heart of the person who is praying. J.C. Ryle said it like this, "<em>Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is no heart, there may be lip work and tongue work, but there is nothing that God listens to; there is no prayer.</em>" </li> </ul> <p><strong>3. Prayer Has No Obstacles<br /> </strong></p> <ul> <li>Romans 8 makes it clear to us that there are no obstacles for our prayers to make it to God the Father, because of what the rest of the Trinity is doing. Jesus is at the right of hand of God interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)  He is the great High Priest who allows us to approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may find mercy and grace in time of need. (Heb.4:14-16) The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us according to the will of God (Rom.8:26,27) If the Trinity goes to these lengths to help us in our prayers should we not be a people of prayer? </li> <li>We are continually encouraged to pray. The Lord wants us to pray, to give our requests to Him. The Gospels alone give much encouragement. (Matt.6:5-13; Matt. 7:7,8; Matt.9:38; Matt.21:22; Luke 11:5-13; Luke 18:1John 14:13,14) </li> </ul> <p><strong>4. Biblical, Word Centered, Prayer Impacts What the Person Prays <br /> <br /> </strong></p> <ul> <li>The question may be asked, "<strong>what do you pray for</strong>?" Too many times our prayer lists do not sound much different than a child's list. We ask for health, things, and comfort. Seldom do we hear prayers that are more spiritually oriented. Yet, Christ says seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (earthly needs) will be added to you as well. (Matt.6:33) When is the last time you prayed for things such as were prayed by the apostle Paul. When praying for the people of Ephesus, Paul asked that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, that they may know the hope to which they were called and that they would understand greatness of Christ power toward us who believe. (Eph.1:15-23) In other words Paul was concerned for the spirtual well being of the people he was praying for. He was concerned that they would have a proper view of God. What do you pray for yourself and for others? <strong>Are you praying that God would be glorified in you and in others</strong>? (2 Thess.1:11) This should be our greatest desire. </li> </ul> <p><strong>5. There is No Excuse Not to Pray<br /> <br /> </strong></p> <ul> <li>Here are three excuses that J.C. Ryle mentioned that people use when asked why they don't pray. (Remember Ryle would have written this over a hundred years ago) </li> </ul> <p>        1. I don't know how.<br />         2. I don't have time.<br />         3. I don't have a convenient place.</p> <ul> <li>I have used all three of these at different times in my life. The first one is really no excuse at all. Prayer is simply speaking to God. Our prayers may change as we grow in our knowledge of Him (Is.55:8,9), but how we do it will not. Ryle wrote, "<em>The most ignorant man will find something to say to God, if he has only a mind</em>." The second excuse can be answered in terms of our priorities.<strong> We always find time for the things that we find important.</strong> It is my prayer that we will understand just how important prayer is and make the time for prayer. The third excuse is the same as the second. I understand in a home with children that a convenient place can be tough to find. However, once again I believe that with some sacrifice a place can be found. </li> </ul> <p><strong>Do you pray? I hope your answer is yes and that it is your desire to do so increasingly as you grow in your love for God!</strong></p>One of the questions that J.C. Ryle asked repeatedly in his booklet "A Call to Pray" was," Do you pray? ". These three words are challenging to the average Christian today. When I ask that question I am not talking about the quick prayer that we put before meals, when we're in a bind or rushing off somewhere. I am talking about quiet, uninterrupted prayer. A time when we are alone and focused on the King of Kings. If this is not a habit in your life, let me suggest to you that it needs to be. If we truly understood prayer's importance, I dare suggest it would move way up on our priority list. At our last launch team meeting we looked at 5 facts in regards to prayer that have motivated me to move it up on my priority list and I pray we will motivate you to do the same. 1. Believers Pray As you search the pages of Scripture from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, you see that the people of God pray. In fact they make it a priority. We see men like Daniel, David and Jesus (the Son of God) taking time in their day to get alone and pray to the Lord. We see the priority of prayer in the church in the book of Acts (Acts 1:24, Acts 4:31, Acts 6:6, Acts 10:9 etc). Paul, Peter, James and John alll mention the importance of praying in their epistles. Paul often requests prayer and tells of how he is praying for those to whom he is writing to. It signifies who is godly (1 Pet.1:17, 1 Cor.1:2) and ungodly (Ps.14:4). 2. Prayer is Not Just Empty Words The Lord is not interested in prayers that pay Him lip service only. There was plenty of prayer going on while Jesus was here on this earth. There were men who prayed to be seen by others (Matt.6:5). There were those who "heaped up empty phrases" thinking that they would be heard because of their many words. (Matt.6:7) Jesus quoted the words found in the book of Isaiah when showing where the people were really at. He said that the people honored Him with their lips, but that their hearts were far from Him. (Matt.15:8,9) God is not interested in mere words. He looks on the heart of the person who is praying. J.C. Ryle said it like this, " Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is no heart, there may be lip work and tongue work, but there is nothing that God listens to; there is no prayer. " 3. Prayer Has No Obstacles Romans 8 makes it clear to us that there are no obstacles for our prayers to make it to God the Father, because of what the rest of the Trinity is doing. Jesus is at the right of hand of God interceding for us. (Romans 8:34) He is the great High Priest who allows us to approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may find mercy and grace in time of need. (Heb.4:14-16) The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us according to the will of God (Rom.8:26,27) If the Trinity goes to these lengths to help us in our prayers should we not be a people of prayer? We are continually encouraged to pray. The Lord wants us to pray, to give our requests to Him. The Gospels alone give much encouragement. (Matt.6:5-13; Matt. 7:7,8; Matt.9:38; Matt.21:22; Luke 11:5-13; Luke 18:1John 14:13,14) 4. Biblical, Word Centered, Prayer Impacts What the Person Prays The question may be asked, " what do you pray for ?" Too many times our prayer lists do not sound much different than a child's list. We ask for health, things, and comfort. Seldom do we hear prayers that are more spiritually oriented. Yet, Christ...211564http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/211564-thumbnail.jpg?1005250545http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=211336http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=211336Sun, 23 May 2010 04:00:00 GMTI have found in ministry over the last 15 years that people rise to the occasion when you raise the bar. I have witnessed it in youth ministry, in missions and in children's ministry. Too often the church has decided that their main job is to entertain teens and children. However, number one, that is not the Biblical mandate of the church, number two, we don't do a good job at it and number three, teens and children crave something more. If church is boring it's, because we are not doing a very good job at teaching the splendour of God. <strong>Children are little sponges </strong>and they can learn much in these very informative years! This is where the church needs to work alongside of parents to support them in what they are teaching. <br /> <br /> At Harvest we believe that children should be motivated to climb to higher spiritual ground during their years in children's ministry. <strong>The values of children's ministry at Harvest </strong>can be defined through C.L.I.M.B. <br /> <br /> <strong>Communities</strong> - in our children's ministry we want to help children establish spiritually healthy friendships. (Acts 2:42)<br /> <br /> <strong>Love</strong> - in our children's ministry we want our children to be loved and to provide opportunities for our children to serve others in love. (1 John 4:7,8)<br /> <br /> <strong>Imitate</strong> - in our children's ministry we want our children to be imitators of Jesus Christ as they are discipled from the Bible.(Ephesians 5:1) <br /> <br /> <strong>Magnify</strong> - in our children's ministry we want our children to magnify Jesus Christ through worship and prayer. (John 4:24 and Jeremiah 33:3) <br /> <br /> <strong>Boldly</strong> - in our children's ministry we want our children to be bold in sharing their faith in Christ. (Romans 1:16) <br /> <br /> <img width="300" height="400" _moz_resizing="true" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Arizona%20trip%20009.JPG" /><br /> <br /> As a father of two young girls it is such an encouragement to me to hear them excited about the things that they are learning in children's ministry. A great memory for me this last Easter was my youngest daughter (5) retelling to me all that Christ had suffered on the cross for our sins and how He had died and yet He rose again! She had just come from her time in children's ministry. She was so excited to share with us all that she had learned. I have also seen my oldest (7) learn much in her year's in children's ministry and she has made many great friends who she is still in contact with despite are moving to another city. <strong>Children's ministry has been such a great support </strong>to what we have been teaching them and we are very thankful for it! <br /> <br /> We are excited to see what God will do in and through these young lives in the years to come!I have found in ministry over the last 15 years that people rise to the occasion when you raise the bar. I have witnessed it in youth ministry, in missions and in children's ministry. Too often the church has decided that their main job is to entertain teens and children. However, number one, that is not the Biblical mandate of the church, number two, we don't do a good job at it and number three, teens and children crave something more. If church is boring it's, because we are not doing a very good job at teaching the splendour of God. Children are little sponges and they can learn much in these very informative years! This is where the church needs to work alongside of parents to support them in what they are teaching. At Harvest we believe that children should be motivated to climb to higher spiritual ground during their years in children's ministry. The values of children's ministry at Harvest can be defined through C.L.I.M.B. Communities - in our children's ministry we want to help children establish spiritually healthy friendships. (Acts 2:42) Love - in our children's ministry we want our children to be loved and to provide opportunities for our children to serve others in love. (1 John 4:7,8) Imitate - in our children's ministry we want our children to be imitators of Jesus Christ as they are discipled from the Bible.(Ephesians 5:1) Magnify - in our children's ministry we want our children to magnify Jesus Christ through worship and prayer. (John 4:24 and Jeremiah 33:3) Boldly - in our children's ministry we want our children to be bold in sharing their faith in Christ. (Romans 1:16) As a father of two young girls it is such an encouragement to me to hear them excited about the things that they are learning in children's ministry. A great memory for me this last Easter was my youngest daughter (5) retelling to me all that Christ had suffered on the cross for our sins and how He had died and yet He rose again! She had just come from her time in children's ministry. She was so excited to share with us all that she had learned. I have also seen my oldest (7) learn much in her year's in children's ministry and she has made many great friends who she is still in contact with despite are moving to another city. Children's ministry has been such a great support to what we have been teaching them and we are very thankful for it! We are excited to see what God will do in and through these young lives in the years to come!211336http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/211336-thumbnail.jpg?1005231207http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=210788http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=210788Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 GMTOn Sunday at our launch team meeting we talked about the importance of children's ministry. There have been great men over the course of history who have undersood the importance of ministry to children. D.L. Moody comes to mind as we think of a man who had a heart for children. The Sunday School that he began became so prominient that President Lincoln came and spoke at one of his Sunday School meetings in 1860. D.L. Moody was concerned about the souls of children.<br /> <br />         As adults we ought to have this same <strong>passion to minister to children</strong>. This begins in our homes. Parents have a great responsibility to care for and teach their children. Moses reminded the people of God that parents have a responsibility to pass the Word of God onto their children. In Deuteronomy 4:9,10 he told parents that they were to make the things of the Lord known to their children and their children's children so that they would learn to fear the Lord all the days of their lives. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we see that teaching our children the words of God is not a once a week thing or a once a day thing, but rather it is something that we should be doing continually with our children throughout our days with them. This same admonition is given again in Deuteronomy 11:18-21. Deuteronomy 32:46,47 remind us of just how important the Word is to our children. He writes, "for it is no empty word for you, but your very life." <strong>There is no greater responsibility for a parent then teaching their children the Word of God. <br /> <br /> <img alt="" style="width: 200px; height: 267px;" align="right" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Children%20Teaching.jpg" /></strong>        Other examples include God's plan for Abraham. Genesis 18:19 says that God chose Abraham so that he may command his children and his household to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. Psalm 78 speaks of the importance of telling our children the glorious deeds of the Lord and His might and the wonders that He has done so that they might put their hope in God. (Ps.78:1-8) Much of the book of Proverbs is the effort of a father to pass wisdom onto his son. Again and again in the Proverbs we read, "hear, my son, your father's instruction." There is no doubt that teaching children the things of God was seen as the primary responsibility of the parent in the OT.<br /> <br />         The N.T. continues to remind parents of their responsibility to their children. Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. <strong>Men, it is not just our wives responsibility </strong>to teach our children God's Word, but as the head of the home it is your responsibility to make sure that your children are being instructed in the things of the Lord. When looking at the qualifications for someone to hold the office of deacon in the church they were to be someone who managed their children and their household well. (1 Tim.3:12) The qualifications of an elder are no different. (1 Tim.3:4; Titus 1:6)<br /> <br />         <strong>How are you doing as a parent?</strong> It is no easy task, but one that we need to make the number one priority as we raise our children. We spend a lot of time, money and effort on things that really matter very little in our kids lives. Let us never be to busy or distracted that we neglect instructing our children in the things of the Lord. <br /> <br />         Next we will look at how Harvest does children's ministry and the values that they hold to.On Sunday at our launch team meeting we talked about the importance of children's ministry. There have been great men over the course of history who have undersood the importance of ministry to children. D.L. Moody comes to mind as we think of a man who had a heart for children. The Sunday School that he began became so prominient that President Lincoln came and spoke at one of his Sunday School meetings in 1860. D.L. Moody was concerned about the souls of children. As adults we ought to have this same passion to minister to children . This begins in our homes. Parents have a great responsibility to care for and teach their children. Moses reminded the people of God that parents have a responsibility to pass the Word of God onto their children. In Deuteronomy 4:9,10 he told parents that they were to make the things of the Lord known to their children and their children's children so that they would learn to fear the Lord all the days of their lives. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we see that teaching our children the words of God is not a once a week thing or a once a day thing, but rather it is something that we should be doing continually with our children throughout our days with them. This same admonition is given again in Deuteronomy 11:18-21. Deuteronomy 32:46,47 remind us of just how important the Word is to our children. He writes, "for it is no empty word for you, but your very life." There is no greater responsibility for a parent then teaching their children the Word of God. Other examples include God's plan for Abraham. Genesis 18:19 says that God chose Abraham so that he may command his children and his household to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. Psalm 78 speaks of the importance of telling our children the glorious deeds of the Lord and His might and the wonders that He has done so that they might put their hope in God. (Ps.78:1-8) Much of the book of Proverbs is the effort of a father to pass wisdom onto his son. Again and again in the Proverbs we read, "hear, my son, your father's instruction." There is no doubt that teaching children the things of God was seen as the primary responsibility of the parent in the OT. The N.T. continues to remind parents of their responsibility to their children. Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Men, it is not just our wives responsibility to teach our children God's Word, but as the head of the home it is your responsibility to make sure that your children are being instructed in the things of the Lord. When looking at the qualifications for someone to hold the office of deacon in the church they were to be someone who managed their children and their household well. (1 Tim.3:12) The qualifications of an elder are no different. (1 Tim.3:4; Titus 1:6) How are you doing as a parent? It is no easy task, but one that we need to make the number one priority as we raise our children. We spend a lot of time, money and effort on things that really matter very little in our kids lives. Let us never be to busy or distracted that we neglect instructing our children in the things of the Lord. Next we will look at how Harvest does children's ministry and the values that they hold to.210788http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/210788-thumbnail.jpg?1005200855http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=206001http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=206001Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:00:00 GMTI wanted to share some thoughts on the service that we attended last night at Harvest Elgin. The church had non typical service last night. Instead of singing worship songs and then having a sermon preached;  the service was more interactive. After singing a few worship songs based on the cross the congregation was then dismissed in sections to the foyer. In the foyer there were 4 different stations. All four rooms focused on the wounding and crucifying of the Lord done in a very tasteful and effective way. After the people had gone through the 4 different areas they went down a candle lit hallway to meet judges. The judge then stamped on their hands the word <strong>GUILTY</strong>.   <br /> <br /> <img height="213" width="283" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/gavel.jpg" style="width: 275px; height: 207px;" /><br /> <br /> <br /> For two of three services I played the role of one of the judges. I had many thoughts go through my mind as I stamped hand after hand of the  hundreds of people who went through the line. There were old and young, big and small, many nationalities and they all had one thing in common...<strong>they are all GUILTY</strong>! Some were moved to tears as they looked down on their hands and seen the word <strong>GUILTY</strong>. They realized that the charge is true and they were broken by that reality. I saw many children look up into their parents faces and ask <em>"<strong>what does that mean"</strong></em>? Many parents did a great job of helping their children understand that our sin makes us <strong>GUILTY</strong> before God. <br /> <br /> <img border="0" src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/IMG_1201.JPG" style="width: 275px; height: 184px;" /><br /> <br /> My <strong>heart felt heavy</strong> as I stamped person after person. I thought of the awefulness of sin and that it plagues all of mankind. There was <strong>not one</strong> person who could pass by that was innocent. (Rom.3:10,23)  It didn't matter if they were kind and nice people. It didn't matter if they were young or old. It didn't matter whether thay had a life of hardship or a life of blessing. Then I was struck by the fact that I had stamped hundreds of hands and was feeling heavy hearted...what about the billions that are <strong>GUILTY</strong> before God?! 6,811,988,144...that is the estimated population at this moment.<strong> 6,811,988,144 GUILTY! </strong>Many unaware of their guilt, many not caring, many angered by the accusation! <br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/IMG_1206.JPG" style="width: 275px; height: 184px;" /><br /> <br /> After the people in the line went around the corner they came to the cross, they signed their names on the cross and then they stood in a doorway where there was a sign that read <strong>Christ in __________'s place</strong>. As you stood in the doorway believers were reminded that Christ took our place and they were given communion to remember that precious promise! We are guilty, everyone one of us, yet for those who put their trust in Him<strong> our GUILT </strong>has been placed upon Christ at the cross.<br /> <br /> <br /> One last thought. <strong>How many people do I see everyday that are GUILTY</strong> and yet they have no idea about the cross! I was moved to tears last night as I considered that. I am too busy and too complacent to care and even if I did stop and consider their plight I often am too fearful to do anything about it. Yes, it is true that they may reject the Good News about the cross and they may even make my life uncomfortable for a few minutes, BUT what about those who receive the Good News and are freed from their <strong>GUILT</strong>! Lord God use us to proclaim the Good News and give us a heart to see the <strong>GUILTY freed</strong>! (Matt.28:18-20)<br /> <strong>     <br type="_moz" /> </strong><map id="rade_img_map_edtBody_0" name="rade_img_map_edtBody_0"> <area coords="10,10,30,30" shape="RECT" /> <area href="http://" coords="345,329,929,566" shape="RECT" /></map>I wanted to share some thoughts on the service that we attended last night at Harvest Elgin. The church had non typical service last night. Instead of singing worship songs and then having a sermon preached; the service was more interactive. After singing a few worship songs based on the cross the congregation was then dismissed in sections to the foyer. In the foyer there were 4 different stations. All four rooms focused on the wounding and crucifying of the Lord done in a very tasteful and effective way. After the people had gone through the 4 different areas they went down a candle lit hallway to meet judges. The judge then stamped on their hands the word GUILTY . For two of three services I played the role of one of the judges. I had many thoughts go through my mind as I stamped hand after hand of the hundreds of people who went through the line. There were old and young, big and small, many nationalities and they all had one thing in common... they are all GUILTY ! Some were moved to tears as they looked down on their hands and seen the word GUILTY . They realized that the charge is true and they were broken by that reality. I saw many children look up into their parents faces and ask " what does that mean" ? Many parents did a great job of helping their children understand that our sin makes us GUILTY before God. My heart felt heavy as I stamped person after person. I thought of the awefulness of sin and that it plagues all of mankind. There was not one person who could pass by that was innocent. (Rom.3:10,23) It didn't matter if they were kind and nice people. It didn't matter if they were young or old. It didn't matter whether thay had a life of hardship or a life of blessing. Then I was struck by the fact that I had stamped hundreds of hands and was feeling heavy hearted...what about the billions that are GUILTY before God?! 6,811,988,144...that is the estimated population at this moment. 6,811,988,144 GUILTY! Many unaware of their guilt, many not caring, many angered by the accusation! After the people in the line went around the corner they came to the cross, they signed their names on the cross and then they stood in a doorway where there was a sign that read Christ in __________'s place . As you stood in the doorway believers were reminded that Christ took our place and they were given communion to remember that precious promise! We are guilty, everyone one of us, yet for those who put their trust in Him our GUILT has been placed upon Christ at the cross. One last thought. How many people do I see everyday that are GUILTY and yet they have no idea about the cross! I was moved to tears last night as I considered that. I am too busy and too complacent to care and even if I did stop and consider their plight I often am too fearful to do anything about it. Yes, it is true that they may reject the Good News about the cross and they may even make my life uncomfortable for a few minutes, BUT what about those who receive the Good News and are freed from their GUILT ! Lord God use us to proclaim the Good News and give us a heart to see the GUILTY freed ! (Matt.28:18-20)206001http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/206001-thumbnail.jpg?1004030321http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=205957http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=205957Sat, 03 Apr 2010 03:00:00 GMT <span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">     It is <strong>Good Friday</strong> and many around the world will think of <strong>the cross</strong> this weekend. Some will do it out of religious obligation, some will do it out of tradition (something that their family has done for years), some will remember in thankfulness and love and others will only discover the wonder of <strong>the cross</strong> for the first time this weekend. <br /> <br /> <br /> J.C. Ryle reflecting on the cross wrote, <em>"The longer I dwell on <strong>the cross</strong> in my thoughts, the more I am satisfied that there is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world."</em> <br /> <br /> <br /> The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and <strong>him crucified</strong>." 1 Cor.2:2 To the Galatians he wrote, "But far be it from me to boast except in <strong>the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ</strong>, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal.6:14<br /> <br /> </span> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">     The <strong>cross is the most important thing</strong> in the Christian life. <strong>The cross</strong> is the most important thing in all of life for every man, woman and child. It is at the cross that eternity is determined. </span><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">1 Cor.1:23,24 "But we preach Christ </span><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, <strong>²⁴</strong> but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ </span><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">the power of God and </span><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">the wisdom of God." <strong>What one believes about the cross</strong> determines whether one is under the wrath of God or whether one is a child of God!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> </span> </p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>     The cross</strong> was not an accident! <strong>The cross</strong> was not a tragedy! <strong>The cross</strong> was not an event where evil triumphed! <strong>The cross</strong> did not come about as a result of God's lack of power, but rather it was a demonstration of His love and power! <strong>The cross</strong> was determined before the foundation of the world. (1 Peter 1:20,21) The prophets foretold of Christ`s coming and His sacrifice. Jesus Himself continually told His disciples what things must happen. All the O.T. points toward the need for <strong>the cross</strong> and all the N.T. celebrates <strong>the cross</strong>. Even as the Word tells us what must yet take place in the book of Revelation, we see <strong>the cross</strong> as central to the events as they are unfolded. When no one anywhere can be found worthy to open the scroll, it is the Lamb who was slain that is the only One able to open the scroll. (Rev.5:9,10)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> </span></p> <p><img src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/../Content/10443/cross.jpg" /></p> <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">     <br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">     Is <strong>the cross</strong> central in your life? Are you still gripped by the awesomeness that God would pay the price for what you rightfully owe? Are you in awe to see what such great lengths God used to demonstrate His love for you and provide the way for salvation? Focus on <strong>the cross</strong> and what Christ did for you. It defies all logic that the Judge would also be the One who would take the righteous wrath of God upon Himself. Our sins demand that a price be paid! He provided that payment on the cross. </span></p> <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">         <br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: &quot;abyssinica sil&quot;; font-size: 12pt;">     How is your life different because of this amazing truth? Are your days shaped by it? Do your neighbours know the power of <strong>the cross</strong> as evidenced in your life? Are you experiencing freedom from sin? "May God give you grace, not to lay too much stress on your faith, but to grasp the great ground of confidence, Christ, and all His work and all His personal fitness to be a sinner`s refuge." (Dabney) All of our confidence comes not from our faith, but rather on the great work Christ did on <strong>the cross</strong>! In other words, cling to Christ`s work on <strong>the cross</strong>! Look to Him who is our Saviour, Jesus Christ the Lord! Thank you Jesus for <strong>the cross</strong>! Have a great Easter and proclaim the wonder of <strong>the cross</strong> to a lost and dying world!</span></p>It is Good Friday and many around the world will think of the cross this weekend. Some will do it out of religious obligation, some will do it out of tradition (something that their family has done for years), some will remember in thankfulness and love and others will only discover the wonder of the cross for the first time this weekend. J.C. Ryle reflecting on the cross wrote, "The longer I dwell on the cross in my thoughts, the more I am satisfied that there is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world." The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified ." 1 Cor.2:2 To the Galatians he wrote, "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ , by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal.6:14 The cross is the most important thing in the Christian life. The cross is the most important thing in all of life for every man, woman and child. It is at the cross that eternity is determined. 1 Cor.1:23,24 "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." What one believes about the cross determines whether one is under the wrath of God or whether one is a child of God! The cross was not an accident! The cross was not a tragedy! The cross was not an event where evil triumphed! The cross did not come about as a result of God's lack of power, but rather it was a demonstration of His love and power! The cross was determined before the foundation of the world. (1 Peter 1:20,21) The prophets foretold of Christ`s coming and His sacrifice. Jesus Himself continually told His disciples what things must happen. All the O.T. points toward the need for the cross and all the N.T. celebrates the cross . Even as the Word tells us what must yet take place in the book of Revelation, we see the cross as central to the events as they are unfolded. When no one anywhere can be found worthy to open the scroll, it is the Lamb who was slain that is the only One able to open the scroll. (Rev.5:9,10) Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Is the cross central in your life? Are you still gripped by the awesomeness that God would pay the price for what you rightfully owe? Are you in awe to see what such great lengths God used to demonstrate His love for you and provide the way for salvation? Focus on the cross and what Christ did for you. It defies all logic that the Judge would also be the One who would take the righteous wrath of God upon Himself. Our sins demand that a price be paid! He provided that payment on the cross. Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 How is your life different because of this amazing truth? Are your days shaped by it? Do your neighbours know the power of the cross as evidenced in your life? Are you experiencing freedom from sin? "May God give you grace, not to lay too much stress on your faith, but to grasp the great ground of confidence, Christ, and all His work and all His personal fitness to be a sinner`s refuge." (Dabney) All of our confidence comes not from our faith, but rather on the great work Christ did on the cross ! In other words, cling to Christ`s work on the cross ! Look to Him who is our Saviour,...The Cross205957http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/205957-thumbnail.jpg?1004021015http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=202349http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=202349Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT <p>          There is not a Christian alive who does not know the command to pray and knows that it is important to do so. Yet, too often prayer is swallowed up by the busyness of life and we fail to do it. <strong>Our belief that prayer is important fails to translate into it being actually being practiced in our lives.</strong> In our society we fill our every moment up with noise and distraction from the time we get up, to the time that we go to bed. Our modern technologies have made it possible that we never have to "suffer" in silence. Our obsession with filling our life with activity, entertainment and noise has crowded out prayer. When is the last time that you drove somewhere in silence and used that time to talk with the Lord? When is the last time that you got up early so that you could spend some concentrated time talking with the King of Kings before going through your day? When is the last time that you closed your day on your knees thanking the Lord for life and the privilege of knowing Him?<strong> Do you schedule prayer into your day as Daniel did?</strong> (Daniel 6:10) We see Jesus setting the model for us. After a long day of ministry that went into the evening we read that He rose very early the next morning, went to a desolate place and prayed. (Mark 1:35)  This was His habit. (Luke 5:16) After a long day of ministry we see Christ praying late into the night. (Mark 6:46-48) In His hour of distress He prayed to the Father. (Mark 14:32-36) His prayer life was such that when the disciples saw Him praying they asked that He would teach them to pray. (Luke 11:1) Jesus assumed that His followers would pray and He taught them on it. (Luke 18:1) Prayer was important to Jesus and He lived accordingly. Can the same be said about  us? It is time that our belief in prayer is reflected in practice in our lives.</p> <p>          J.C Ryle reflected on the importance of prayer. <em>“Of all the list of Christian duties there is none to which there is such abounding encouragement as prayer. It is the duty which concerns all. High and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned – all must pray. Above all, it is a duty in which everything depends on the heart and motive within. Our words may be feeble and ill-chosen, and our language broken and ungrammatical, and unworthy to be written down. But if the heart if right, it matters not. He that sits in heaven can spell out the meaning of every petition sent up in the name of Jesus, and can make him that asks know and feel that he receives.” </em>Martyn Lloyd Jones stated, <em>"Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God."</em> What a great reminder of the importance of prayer in our lives. <strong>Prayer brings us to a proper perspective.</strong> He is God and we are not. It humbles us and reminds us that He is the Creator and we are the creation and that we are here to bring glory to Him. It reminds us that life is never so out of control that God is not able to bring good to those who love Him to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28)</p> <p><img src="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Praying%20Hands.jpg" /> Prayer is never a waste of time. <em>“No man ever said, at the end of his days, ‘I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too careful with my soul.’” </em>(J.C. Ryle) Prayer not only changes our perspective, but it also changes us. <em>“What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray </em><em>much.”</em> (J.C. Ryle) <strong>Do you desire to grow in your holiness? Pray more.</strong></p> <p>          Let us never be content with what we can do on our own and in our own strength. <em>"Too many believers become satisfied with physical blessings and have little desire for spiritual blessings. Having become so dependent on their physical resources, they feel little need for spiritual resources. When programs, methods, and money produce impressive results, there is an inclination to confuse human success with divine blessing. Christians can actually behave like practical humanists, living as if God were not necessary. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing- along with His empowerment. Because of this great and common danger, Paul urged believers to "pray at all times" (Eph.6:18) and to "devote yourselves to prayer" (Col.4:2). Continual, persistent, incessant prayer is an essential part of Christian living and flows out of dependence on God." </em>(John MacArthur, Alone With God) <strong>It is my prayer that as a church we will be passionate about prayer.</strong> Let us devote ourselves to prayer. Will you take up the challenge and the call to pray? Will you schedule specific times into your week and be intentional about being devoted to prayer? I will take the lead. I am committing to be in prayer from 6:30-7 am. It is my desire to have a heart of prayer as I go through my day, but I am committing to be intentional about getting alone to pray at that time each day. If you want to share when you will be setting time aside to pray (to be accountable)  I welcome you to leave a comment. Let us spur one another on in this all important aspect of the Christian life! (Heb.10:24,25)</p> <p>    <em>      <strong>"The intelligent child of God must be driven to say, "I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do. I must pray." </strong></em><strong>(R.A. 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lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"></span> <p></p> <p> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoListParagraph"><a name="_ftnref1" href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftn1">^{<span><span>^{<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"></span>}<!--[endif]--></span></span>}</a><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--> <div id="ftn1"> </div> <a name="_ftn1" href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftnref1">^{<span>^{<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;"></span>}</span>}</a> </div> <p></p>There is not a Christian alive who does not know the command to pray and knows that it is important to do so. Yet, too often prayer is swallowed up by the busyness of life and we fail to do it. Our belief that prayer is important fails to translate into it being actually being practiced in our lives. In our society we fill our every moment up with noise and distraction from the time we get up, to the time that we go to bed. Our modern technologies have made it possible that we never have to "suffer" in silence. Our obsession with filling our life with activity, entertainment and noise has crowded out prayer. When is the last time that you drove somewhere in silence and used that time to talk with the Lord? When is the last time that you got up early so that you could spend some concentrated time talking with the King of Kings before going through your day? When is the last time that you closed your day on your knees thanking the Lord for life and the privilege of knowing Him? Do you schedule prayer into your day as Daniel did? (Daniel 6:10) We see Jesus setting the model for us. After a long day of ministry that went into the evening we read that He rose very early the next morning, went to a desolate place and prayed. (Mark 1:35) This was His habit. (Luke 5:16) After a long day of ministry we see Christ praying late into the night. (Mark 6:46-48) In His hour of distress He prayed to the Father. (Mark 14:32-36) His prayer life was such that when the disciples saw Him praying they asked that He would teach them to pray. (Luke 11:1) Jesus assumed that His followers would pray and He taught them on it. (Luke 18:1) Prayer was important to Jesus and He lived accordingly. Can the same be said about us? It is time that our belief in prayer is reflected in practice in our lives. J.C Ryle reflected on the importance of prayer. “Of all the list of Christian duties there is none to which there is such abounding encouragement as prayer. It is the duty which concerns all. High and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned – all must pray. Above all, it is a duty in which everything depends on the heart and motive within. Our words may be feeble and ill-chosen, and our language broken and ungrammatical, and unworthy to be written down. But if the heart if right, it matters not. He that sits in heaven can spell out the meaning of every petition sent up in the name of Jesus, and can make him that asks know and feel that he receives.” Martyn Lloyd Jones stated, "Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God." What a great reminder of the importance of prayer in our lives. Prayer brings us to a proper perspective. He is God and we are not. It humbles us and reminds us that He is the Creator and we are the creation and that we are here to bring glory to Him. It reminds us that life is never so out of control that God is not able to bring good to those who love Him to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28) Prayer is never a waste of time. “No man ever said, at the end of his days, ‘I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too careful with my soul.’” (J.C. Ryle) Prayer not only changes our perspective, but it also changes us. “What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty,...202349http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=198582http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=198582Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMTI recently studied and preached Malachi 1:6-14. This passage was a great reminder of <strong>what happens to people when they lose their focus</strong>. The priests had the best job in the world. They were in the service of presenting sacrifices and offerings to the King of Kings each day. They had been brought back from years in exile and once again they were serving in the temple. Yet as we look at the actions and the attitudes of the Priests we see that their hearts were far from the Lord and they had lost sight of who and why they were serving. The Lord begins by stating that a son honors his father and a servant his master. To honor is to respect, to esteem, to give weight to and to make much of. Everyone knows it is proper that honor is shown in these relationships. However, they were not honoring the Lord who was the Father of Israel nor fearing Him as they should as He was their master. However, the priests were apparantly clueless. The following is the outline that I preached on vs 7-14.<br /> <br /> <strong>1.</strong> Examine Your Actions Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 7-9) <br /> <strong>2.</strong> Quit the Charade Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 10)<br /> <strong>3.</strong> Reflect My Greatness Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 11) <br /> <strong>4.</strong> Examine Your Attitude Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 12,13) <br /> <strong>5.</strong> Fear the King Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 14) <br /> <br /> The Priests lost view of the fact that the Lord of Hosts was who they were serving. The term "Lord of Hosts" means that He was Lord over all heavenly powers, over all armies or another way of saying it is that He is the Lord Almighty. <strong>There is no one greater than Him. </strong>Their actions showed that they despised the name of the Lord. Their indignance at the Lord's charge against them shows their pride. I'm sure they felt that they were better than the people around them. So what if we are not perfect? At least we try! Well <strong>God is never OK with half heartedness.</strong> In fact in verse 10 he says that it would be better for them to shut the temple down then to continue sacrificing in the way that they were. God deserves all our best. He deserves actions that would bring him honor. He is a great God (vs11)! Our attitudes can also become skewed when we lose focus on who God really is! The priests were complaining about how tiresome it was to continually have to sacrifice animals. They had become complacent and lost their focus on the King. The Lord reminds them that those who don't worship Him in the way that he requires will be cursed for they are to fear the King! <strong>How are your actions and attitudes giving honor to the Lord?</strong> Do you reflect the greatness of God in your life? Is the power of the Gospel seen in how you live and who you live for? Are you just going through the motions in your life, church, prayer, devos or <strong>are you still amazed to be forgiven by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords </strong>and your greatest desire is to know Him more! I pray that it is the latter!I recently studied and preached Malachi 1:6-14. This passage was a great reminder of what happens to people when they lose their focus . The priests had the best job in the world. They were in the service of presenting sacrifices and offerings to the King of Kings each day. They had been brought back from years in exile and once again they were serving in the temple. Yet as we look at the actions and the attitudes of the Priests we see that their hearts were far from the Lord and they had lost sight of who and why they were serving. The Lord begins by stating that a son honors his father and a servant his master. To honor is to respect, to esteem, to give weight to and to make much of. Everyone knows it is proper that honor is shown in these relationships. However, they were not honoring the Lord who was the Father of Israel nor fearing Him as they should as He was their master. However, the priests were apparantly clueless. The following is the outline that I preached on vs 7-14. 1. Examine Your Actions Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 7-9) 2. Quit the Charade Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 10) 3. Reflect My Greatness Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 11) 4. Examine Your Attitude Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 12,13) 5. Fear the King Says the Lord of Hosts (vs 14) The Priests lost view of the fact that the Lord of Hosts was who they were serving. The term "Lord of Hosts" means that He was Lord over all heavenly powers, over all armies or another way of saying it is that He is the Lord Almighty. There is no one greater than Him. Their actions showed that they despised the name of the Lord. Their indignance at the Lord's charge against them shows their pride. I'm sure they felt that they were better than the people around them. So what if we are not perfect? At least we try! Well God is never OK with half heartedness. In fact in verse 10 he says that it would be better for them to shut the temple down then to continue sacrificing in the way that they were. God deserves all our best. He deserves actions that would bring him honor. He is a great God (vs11)! Our attitudes can also become skewed when we lose focus on who God really is! The priests were complaining about how tiresome it was to continually have to sacrifice animals. They had become complacent and lost their focus on the King. The Lord reminds them that those who don't worship Him in the way that he requires will be cursed for they are to fear the King! How are your actions and attitudes giving honor to the Lord? Do you reflect the greatness of God in your life? Is the power of the Gospel seen in how you live and who you live for? Are you just going through the motions in your life, church, prayer, devos or are you still amazed to be forgiven by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and your greatest desire is to know Him more! I pray that it is the latter!198582http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195984http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195984Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMTI know some of you have been following what has been going on with churcheshelpingchurches. Please see the latest video that has been together. Praise God that there have been many people responding to this need. If you are looking for more info goto the website www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I know some of you have been following what has been going on with churcheshelpingchurches. Please see the latest video that has been together. Praise God that there have been many people responding to this need. If you are looking for more info goto the website www.churcheshelpingchurches.com.195984http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195414http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195414Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:00:00 GMTPastor MacDonald and Pastor Driscoll were able to land in Haiti this morning. I will paste their updates on here for those of you who do not follow Twitter. <br /> <br /> <strong>Pastor Mark</strong> <strong>Driscoll</strong><br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Landed in hell but doing well. The soldiers first words off the plane were u will now see a crisis of biblical proportions.</span></span><br /> <br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Franklin graham spent 6 hrs in air and couldn't land. We landed in PaP got security detail and 2 cars. All coming together on the ground.<br /> <br /> </span></span> <h3 data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;msg&quot;}" class="GenericStory_Message">Pray for those who can't get in with supplies but need to. We got in which is a miracle but it's hit and miss. Franklin Graham and others need to get in and if what we heard is true it's getting harder to land.</h3> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Just bought ice cream for a hundred kids sleeping outside. Heard gunshot behind me a teenage boy got shot in head and died immediately.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Devestated Haitian church. More photos coming. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="tweet-url web" href="http://bit.ly/4DEzpo">http://bit.ly/4DEzpo</a><br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">The photo is rotted bodies in front of the Wesleyan church that was a thousand people til destroyed <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="tweet-url web" href="http://bit.ly/4KQWUs">http://bit.ly/4KQWUs</a></span></span><br /> <br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Just saw ruins of largest evangelical church in PaP. Pastor is in his 60s many of his people are dead &amp; his radio station no longer exists.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Just prayed for a 24 yr old xn man digging the body of his 26 yr old brothers body from a rubble heap - he was the worship leader.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Another Haitian church. Roof collapse. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="tweet-url web" href="http://bit.ly/7yYkIy">http://bit.ly/7yYkIy</a><br /> <br /> </span></span> <h3 data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;msg&quot;}" class="GenericStory_Message">Note: the boy who we saw get shot was feet off seminary property next to a makeshift clinic. 5000 people there sleeping outside.</h3> <br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Are u in your church choir? Just visited a church that was over 1000 that fell in the quake. Many choir member... <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="tweet-url web" href="http://bit.ly/4ryVKe">http://bit.ly/4ryVKe</a></span></span><br /> <br /> <strong>Pastor James MacDonald</strong><br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">helping Christians help Haitians thru evangelical seminary. Outside the wall a boy lies dead--shot in the head as we speak.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Churches in Haiti and my heart in shambles.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Out in -Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Interviewed-young man pulling his brother out of the rubble. We are blown away.</span></span><br /> <br /> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">A front row seat to pain and misery in the body of Christ like I have never seen...go to churcheshelpingchurches.com to help us help Haiti<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Corpses rotting in every crumbled bldg-families crushed re loved ones inside - signs in street begging help.<br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Day 1 done - must sleep to turn my haunted mind off. Much more to see tomorrow - God is opening so many doors. <a href="http://twitpic.com/yprsd" class="tweet-url web" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://twitpic.com/yprsd</a><br /> <br /> </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Pray 4 <a class="tweet-url username" href="http://twitter.com/pastormark">pastormark</a> n <a class="tweet-url username" href="http://twitter.com/jamesmacdonald">jamesmacdonald</a>-posting video b4 sleep - on ceramic floor-dinner =granola n water. We r not suffering n = verythankful</span></span><br /> <br /> Please be in prayer for Pastor James and Pastor Mark and their team with them. Lord willing they will fly home tomorrow. Pray for their safety and that they minister to those who hurting in incomprehensible ways.<br /> <br type="_moz" /> Pastor MacDonald and Pastor Driscoll were able to land in Haiti this morning. I will paste their updates on here for those of you who do not follow Twitter. Pastor Mark Driscoll Landed in hell but doing well. The soldiers first words off the plane were u will now see a crisis of biblical proportions. Franklin graham spent 6 hrs in air and couldn't land. We landed in PaP got security detail and 2 cars. All coming together on the ground. Pray for those who can't get in with supplies but need to. We got in which is a miracle but it's hit and miss. Franklin Graham and others need to get in and if what we heard is true it's getting harder to land. Just bought ice cream for a hundred kids sleeping outside. Heard gunshot behind me a teenage boy got shot in head and died immediately. Devestated Haitian church. More photos coming. http://bit.ly/4DEzpo The photo is rotted bodies in front of the Wesleyan church that was a thousand people til destroyed http://bit.ly/4KQWUs Just saw ruins of largest evangelical church in PaP. Pastor is in his 60s many of his people are dead & his radio station no longer exists. Just prayed for a 24 yr old xn man digging the body of his 26 yr old brothers body from a rubble heap - he was the worship leader. Another Haitian church. Roof collapse. http://bit.ly/7yYkIy Note: the boy who we saw get shot was feet off seminary property next to a makeshift clinic. 5000 people there sleeping outside. Are u in your church choir? Just visited a church that was over 1000 that fell in the quake. Many choir member... http://bit.ly/4ryVKe Pastor James MacDonald helping Christians help Haitians thru evangelical seminary. Outside the wall a boy lies dead--shot in the head as we speak. Churches in Haiti and my heart in shambles. Out in -Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Interviewed-young man pulling his brother out of the rubble. We are blown away. A front row seat to pain and misery in the body of Christ like I have never seen...go to churcheshelpingchurches.com to help us help Haiti Corpses rotting in every crumbled bldg-families crushed re loved ones inside - signs in street begging help. Day 1 done - must sleep to turn my haunted mind off. Much more to see tomorrow - God is opening so many doors. http://twitpic.com/yprsd Pray 4 pastormark n jamesmacdonald -posting video b4 sleep - on ceramic floor-dinner =granola n water. We r not suffering n = verythankful Please be in prayer for Pastor James and Pastor Mark and their team with them. Lord willing they will fly home tomorrow. Pray for their safety and that they minister to those who hurting in incomprehensible ways.195414http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195209http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=195209Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:00:00 GMTThe last few days have been a whirlwind. On Thursday morning we met with Pastor James. He had a heavy heart for all that had happened in Haiti. By the end of the day plans were in place to begin a new ministry called "Churches Helping Churches". Much has happened over the last 72 hours. <br /> Pastor James preached this weekend on the last days. There are some incredible things to consider when asking whether we are in the last days. From 1900-2000 there were roughly 20 earthquakes over 6.0 per decade. In other words every decade there were around 20 earthquakes. This last decade there were...over 130! We're talking over 5 times more!!! I was blown away by that stat. Christ told us one of the signs of the coming of the son of man and the end of the age was that there would be earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:3-8)This last century there were also more martyrs than the previous 1900 years combined. (Matthew 24:9)There is no doubt that Christ could return at anytime. Christ after telling us what the signs of His coming will be warned us to be ready for He will return at a time when we will not expect (Matthew 24:44). Are you ready for His return?<br /> We were tasked with finding contacts in Haiti from the churches there. In the last 72 hours I have learned a lot about Port au Prince and the work that the church is doing there during this great time of trial for the people of Haiti. As many of you have seen, the situation there is terrible. One contact directed me to a pastor and this was his situation..."he has a group of churches in ruins and most of their pastors are dead or disappeared." Many church buildings have been destroyed. We heard of a large evangelical church seating 1500 that had just been finished, and it was completely destroyed. Everyone is still sleeping outside, because of the after tremors and the disrepair of the buildings that are still standing. Here is what a President of a Seminary there wrote on Friday. "As of today, we know of two pastors homes in New Life Mission (our mission) that have been destroyed and their church buildings. Also, many of their member homes have been destroyed. We know that one of our Bible school teachers lost his home, mother and nephew. Also, we have two other people who work in our mission who have lost homes, and one has lost family members. Those that have been saved from certain disaster have great testimonies of God's deliverance. All who are alive don't care a great deal about what they lost at this time, but are only thankful that they are still alive. One of our pastors was in the church when it fell down on his head. What saved him was the wooden pulpit that he crouched near. The wooden beam fell against it keeping him from the blows and providing a small space for him. He said the destruction took less than five seconds. The mountain the church was on split wide open. I could tell you many stories of devastation, and I can tell you many stories of God's grace and mercy." We heard many stories such as these.<br /> Lastly, Pastor James, Pastor Mark Driscoll and a team are now en route to Port-Au-Prince. Lord willing they will land tomorrow. Their goal is to help the church in Haiti and to bring back footage of the plight of the church there. PLEASE BE IN PRAYER for them as they go. If you want more information on what is happening there is a now a website: www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. Check it out, there is an amazing song on there that has images of Haiti. A LOT has happened in the last 72 hours, but Lord willing this will only be the beginning of churches in North America helping churches who are in need around the world. This time it will be for Haiti and it is our prayer that God will use this to build His church before He comes to take her to be with Him. If you believe that God is prompting you to be a part of the relief effort you can give via www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. Be in prayer for the people of Haiti. <object height="300" width="400"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8764764&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=0&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=ffffff&amp;fullscreen=1" /></object> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/8764764">Harvest Bible Chapels Helping Haiti</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1811508">HBF Church Plants</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> <object height="300" width="400"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8803888&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /></object> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/8803888">Pastor Mark's Prayer for Haiti</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2987322">harvest Bible Chapel</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> The last few days have been a whirlwind. On Thursday morning we met with Pastor James. He had a heavy heart for all that had happened in Haiti. By the end of the day plans were in place to begin a new ministry called "Churches Helping Churches". Much has happened over the last 72 hours. Pastor James preached this weekend on the last days. There are some incredible things to consider when asking whether we are in the last days. From 1900-2000 there were roughly 20 earthquakes over 6.0 per decade. In other words every decade there were around 20 earthquakes. This last decade there were...over 130! We're talking over 5 times more!!! I was blown away by that stat. Christ told us one of the signs of the coming of the son of man and the end of the age was that there would be earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:3-8)This last century there were also more martyrs than the previous 1900 years combined. (Matthew 24:9)There is no doubt that Christ could return at anytime. Christ after telling us what the signs of His coming will be warned us to be ready for He will return at a time when we will not expect (Matthew 24:44). Are you ready for His return? We were tasked with finding contacts in Haiti from the churches there. In the last 72 hours I have learned a lot about Port au Prince and the work that the church is doing there during this great time of trial for the people of Haiti. As many of you have seen, the situation there is terrible. One contact directed me to a pastor and this was his situation..."he has a group of churches in ruins and most of their pastors are dead or disappeared." Many church buildings have been destroyed. We heard of a large evangelical church seating 1500 that had just been finished, and it was completely destroyed. Everyone is still sleeping outside, because of the after tremors and the disrepair of the buildings that are still standing. Here is what a President of a Seminary there wrote on Friday. "As of today, we know of two pastors homes in New Life Mission (our mission) that have been destroyed and their church buildings. Also, many of their member homes have been destroyed. We know that one of our Bible school teachers lost his home, mother and nephew. Also, we have two other people who work in our mission who have lost homes, and one has lost family members. Those that have been saved from certain disaster have great testimonies of God's deliverance. All who are alive don't care a great deal about what they lost at this time, but are only thankful that they are still alive. One of our pastors was in the church when it fell down on his head. What saved him was the wooden pulpit that he crouched near. The wooden beam fell against it keeping him from the blows and providing a small space for him. He said the destruction took less than five seconds. The mountain the church was on split wide open. I could tell you many stories of devastation, and I can tell you many stories of God's grace and mercy." We heard many stories such as these. Lastly, Pastor James, Pastor Mark Driscoll and a team are now en route to Port-Au-Prince. Lord willing they will land tomorrow. Their goal is to help the church in Haiti and to bring back footage of the plight of the church there. PLEASE BE IN PRAYER for them as they go. If you want more information on what is happening there is a now a website: www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. Check it out, there is an amazing song on there that has images of Haiti. A LOT has happened in the...195209http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=192816http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=192816Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:00:00 GMTThis Friday we will celebrate the incarnation. God coming to earth in the form of a baby. It defies all logic when you think of it from a human perspective. Why would the Lord of all of creation, the Creator of all, become part of the creation? The more I learn about the attributes of our God the more amazing it is to think that the Lord once existed in the form of a baby! He was fully God and yet He was fully man (in the form of a baby). He who is timeless, who is omnipresent, who is omniscient, the alpha and the omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords took on flesh and came as a baby! Paul in writing the Philippians writes, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:5-7)May we think of this the next time we think that we are making "great" sacrifices in order to follow Christ! Christ's incarnation began the example that ended with His death and resurrection. Christ came to serve and set an example that every believer needs to follow. "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil.2:8) He submitted His life to the will of the Father. Our God three in one working in perfect symmetry to attain His purposes. And what was the purpose that Christ came for? John writes, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 4:10-14)God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world and to be the propiation for our sins. A Holy God requires payment for our sins. The following has been written of propitiation. "That which turns aside the wrath of God from the sinner. The atonement of Jesus satisfies the just demands of the righteousness and wrath of God against sin." WOW!!! The incarnation really does defy human logic! We have wronged God...we have sinned against our Creator...we have despised Him and turned our own way! (Rom.3:10) God's answer...I will make the payment for my wrath through the giving of my Son!! If God were to send everyone of us to hell, it would be just and right. But God so loved the world that He have His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life! WHAT AN AWESOME GOD! FULL OF MERCY AND GRACE!!! This Christmas enjoy your time with family and friends. Enjoy the delicious food and times of fellowship. Enjoy your friends and the giving of gifts. All these are gifts from God. However, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR SAVIOR!!! STOP and REFLECT!! Think of an all powerful King who would come in the form of baby so that YOU may might have life. He was born into a no name town, to a couple who had little means and was born not in a hospital, not even in a house but he was born and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)Our King gave up so much so that you might have life, eternal life. What will you give Him this Christmas? What will you do so that you might give Him the praise and honor that He is due this Christmas? My prayer is that you will come to understand and know our great Savior in new ways this Christmas season! Make time to get to know Him in new ways! Be amazed and awestruck by the wonder of this great event that we celebrate this December 25th! Give Christ the praise He is due! Have a Merry Christmas! This Friday we will celebrate the incarnation. God coming to earth in the form of a baby. It defies all logic when you think of it from a human perspective. Why would the Lord of all of creation, the Creator of all, become part of the creation? The more I learn about the attributes of our God the more amazing it is to think that the Lord once existed in the form of a baby! He was fully God and yet He was fully man (in the form of a baby). He who is timeless, who is omnipresent, who is omniscient, the alpha and the omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords took on flesh and came as a baby! Paul in writing the Philippians writes, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:5-7)May we think of this the next time we think that we are making "great" sacrifices in order to follow Christ! Christ's incarnation began the example that ended with His death and resurrection. Christ came to serve and set an example that every believer needs to follow. "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil.2:8) He submitted His life to the will of the Father. Our God three in one working in perfect symmetry to attain His purposes. And what was the purpose that Christ came for? John writes, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 4:10-14)God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world and to be the propiation for our sins. A Holy God requires payment for our sins. The following has been written of propitiation. "That which turns aside the wrath of God from the sinner. The atonement of Jesus satisfies the just demands of the righteousness and wrath of God against sin." WOW!!! The incarnation really does defy human logic! We have wronged God...we have sinned against our Creator...we have despised Him and turned our own way! (Rom.3:10) God's answer...I will make the payment for my wrath through the giving of my Son!! If God were to send everyone of us to hell, it would be just and right. But God so loved the world that He have His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life! WHAT AN AWESOME GOD! FULL OF MERCY AND GRACE!!! This Christmas enjoy your time with family and friends. Enjoy the delicious food and times of fellowship. Enjoy your friends and the giving of gifts. All these are gifts from God. However, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR SAVIOR!!! STOP and REFLECT!! Think of an all powerful King who would come in the form of baby so that YOU may might have life. He was born into a no name town, to a couple who had little means and was born not in a hospital, not even in a house but he was born and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)Our King gave up so much so that you might have life, eternal life. What will you give Him this Christmas? What will you do...192816http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=191888http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=191888Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:00:00 GMTI recently preached on James 4:1-10. The passage is dealing with worldliness. The people that James was writing to were trying to live for the things of this world. They had the same aims and goals as the world. Their focus was on themselves. God made it clear in James 4:4-5 that this is not OK with Him. When we do this we are essentially telling God that we hate Him and we are making ourselves enemies of God. Obviously, God is not OK with this. God opposes the proud (verse 6)! The picture is of an army poised and ready to go. This is how God views the proud. He never has good things to say to those who are proud. BUT, BUT...God gives grace to the humble. God enables us to do that which He calls us to do. He shows us what we must do if we want to get things right with Him. James 4:7-10 gives us maybe the best breakdown in all of Scripture as to what repentance looks like. There are 10 imperatives...10 commands as to what we are to do. <br /> <strong>Top 10 Things to Do to Repent </strong><br /> <strong>1</strong>. <strong>Submit</strong> yourself to God. -This is to put yourself under. You are placing your life in the Lord's hands and submitting to His will and His commands for your life. <br /> <strong>2</strong>. <strong>Resist</strong> the devil. -The idea of resisting is a defensive posture. The word resist can be defined by "standing one's ground". You refuse to give into what the devil would have you do. The result...he will flee from you. <br /> <strong>3</strong>. <strong>Draw near</strong> to God. -Sin causes seperation between the sinner and the Lord. (James 4:1-5) However, if we repent and draw near to God an amazing thing happens. God draws near to us. <br /> <strong>4</strong>. <strong>Cleanse</strong> your hands. -This is not the idea of cleaniness is next godliness. James was writing to a Jewish audience. They would have been reminded of the command in the OT to cleanse their hands before different times of worship. The act was symbolic of being cleansed of their outer deeds. In this setting James is calling us to stop pursuing friendship with the world. <br /> <strong>5</strong>. <strong>Purify</strong> Your hearts -As with all sin the problem begins in our hearts. It is not enough to just stop practing the sin, there also needs to be a change of heart. The Lord said of the Pharisees, these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Are hearts need to be fully devoted to the Lord. <br /> <strong>6</strong>. <strong>Be Wretched</strong> -This is the idea of being miserable. Why does God wants us to be miserable...to be wretched. When we realize the ugliness of our sin we should be miserable and wretched. We should not be complacent or OK with sin in our lives. <br /> <strong>7</strong>. <strong>Mourn</strong> -Carrying on the change in emotion that needs to happen, we are told to mourn. This is the passionate grief that someone sees in someone who had lost a loved one. The persons whole persona changes when they are mourning. It is evident to others that they are in deep grief. <br /> <strong>8</strong>. <strong>Weep</strong> - The third in this list of emotional changes that should happen in the life of one who is repentant is that they will weep. Some translate the word, "wail". This is the outward pouring out of the grief that this person is experiencing. Numbers 6,7,8 really are joined together in describing the emotional changes that one sees in the person who is truly repentant. <br /> <strong>9</strong>. <strong>Turn</strong> -Next we are told to turn. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom. What does that mean some might ask? Doesn't God call us to rejoice in Phil.4:4? Yes, he does. However, in this context, the people that are being written to had put their pleasure and their happiness as the number one goal in their lives. Instead, of putting their personal happiness as the primary goal they needed to rather be broken over their sin and their chasing after friendship with the world. <br /> <strong>10</strong>.<strong>Humble yourself</strong>. -We need to bring ourselves low before the King of Kings. This really shouldn't be that hard. When we stop and think about the reality of who we are in reflection of who God is we should drop to our knees. He is the Creator...we are the creation, He is the Savior...we are sinners, He is the Potter and we are the clay, He is eternal...our lives are but a mist. You get the picture. <br /> <br /> We need to do this daily. If we want to live lives that are honoring to the Lord, we need keep short accounts in regards to our sin. We need to daily submit our lives to Him, resist the devil, draw near to God and our actions and hearts need to be fully His. When we do sin, we need to turn from our sin and humble ourselves before the Lord asking for His forgiveness and then again submit ourselves to Him, etc. Our focus is key as we strive to live holy lives. John Owen wrote, "Christ is our best friend, and ere long will be our only friend. I pray God with all my heart that I may be weary of everything else but converse and communion with Him." Have a great week! Apply these 10 commands to your life and you will will grow mightily in Him. I recently preached on James 4:1-10. The passage is dealing with worldliness. The people that James was writing to were trying to live for the things of this world. They had the same aims and goals as the world. Their focus was on themselves. God made it clear in James 4:4-5 that this is not OK with Him. When we do this we are essentially telling God that we hate Him and we are making ourselves enemies of God. Obviously, God is not OK with this. God opposes the proud (verse 6)! The picture is of an army poised and ready to go. This is how God views the proud. He never has good things to say to those who are proud. BUT, BUT...God gives grace to the humble. God enables us to do that which He calls us to do. He shows us what we must do if we want to get things right with Him. James 4:7-10 gives us maybe the best breakdown in all of Scripture as to what repentance looks like. There are 10 imperatives...10 commands as to what we are to do. Top 10 Things to Do to Repent 1 . Submit yourself to God. -This is to put yourself under. You are placing your life in the Lord's hands and submitting to His will and His commands for your life. 2 . Resist the devil. -The idea of resisting is a defensive posture. The word resist can be defined by "standing one's ground". You refuse to give into what the devil would have you do. The result...he will flee from you. 3 . Draw near to God. -Sin causes seperation between the sinner and the Lord. (James 4:1-5) However, if we repent and draw near to God an amazing thing happens. God draws near to us. 4 . Cleanse your hands. -This is not the idea of cleaniness is next godliness. James was writing to a Jewish audience. They would have been reminded of the command in the OT to cleanse their hands before different times of worship. The act was symbolic of being cleansed of their outer deeds. In this setting James is calling us to stop pursuing friendship with the world. 5 . Purify Your hearts -As with all sin the problem begins in our hearts. It is not enough to just stop practing the sin, there also needs to be a change of heart. The Lord said of the Pharisees, these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Are hearts need to be fully devoted to the Lord. 6 . Be Wretched -This is the idea of being miserable. Why does God wants us to be miserable...to be wretched. When we realize the ugliness of our sin we should be miserable and wretched. We should not be complacent or OK with sin in our lives. 7 . Mourn -Carrying on the change in emotion that needs to happen, we are told to mourn. This is the passionate grief that someone sees in someone who had lost a loved one. The persons whole persona changes when they are mourning. It is evident to others that they are in deep grief. 8 . Weep - The third in this list of emotional changes that should happen in the life of one who is repentant is that they will weep. Some translate the word, "wail". This is the outward pouring out of the grief that this person is experiencing. Numbers 6,7,8 really are joined together in describing the emotional changes that one sees in the person who is truly repentant. 9 . Turn -Next we are told to turn. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom. What does that mean some might ask? Doesn't God call us to rejoice in Phil.4:4? Yes, he does. However, in this context, the people that are being written to had put their pleasure and their happiness as the number one goal in their lives. Instead, of putting...191888http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=186065http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=186065Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMTThe end of last week was awesome. Thursday and Friday we talked a lot about preaching God's Word focusing specifically on the presentation element. How we use our voices, the importance of words, and the overall presentation of a sermon. It was really good to stop and consider how we can grow in the presentation of God's mighty Word. I have heard Pastor James say that the greatest sin is to make the Word of God boring! If we get up and preach God's Word in a monotone voice with no passion we do a great injustice to God's Word. <br /> <br /> Saturday and Sunday we were in Davenport, Iowa visiting the Harvest Bible Chapel there. They just celebrated their 5th anniversary. We heard of life after life that has been radically changed by the Lord. I entitled this blog, "What a Redeemer".  If you look up redeemer in the dictionary it defines a redeemer as someone who redeems. To redeem is: <strong>1 a</strong> <strong>:</strong> to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">buy back</span> <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repurchase">repurchase</a> <strong>b</strong> <strong>:</strong> to get or <span style="text-decoration: underline;">win back </span><strong>2</strong> <strong>:</strong> to free from what distresses or harms: as <strong>a</strong> <strong>:</strong> to free from captivity by payment of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">ransom</span> <strong>b</strong> <strong>:</strong> to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental <strong>c</strong> <strong>:</strong> to release from blame or debt <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clear">clear</a> <strong>d</strong> <strong>:</strong> to free from the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">consequences</span> of sin. <strong>3</strong> <strong>:</strong> to change for the better <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reform">reform</a><br /> <strong>4</strong> <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repair">repair</a>, <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restore">restore</a>. What a picture of what Christ does for the sinner who puts their faith in Christ. He frees us from captivity (Luke 4:18, Romans 7:6). Our ransom was paid by Christ (1 Tim.2:6).  We are now new creatures in Christ (2 Cor.5:17). We have been radically changed for the better (Eph.4:24). <br /> <br /> We were privileged to hear how God is redeeming people in Davenport this last weekend. Pastor Rob took time out of his busy schedule and talked to all the guys in the training center about their story and the things that he has learned along the way. The common theme throughout his testimony was stepping out in faith and seeing He who is faithful do His work again and again. Pastor Rob told of a weekend where he received a phone call on Saturday night and he was told that they couldn't meet at the high school the next morning because there had been a water line break in the school building. So they began to scramble. The easy thing would have been to just cancel church. However, that was not an option for Pastor Rob. So they looked into their options. They could meet at the football field which had seating, but they also needed portable toilets which were required by law. In the 11th hour it all came together and they had service the next day. 17 people repented of their sins that day and believed on the Lord for their salvation. We heard story after story of God's grace and mercy in the life of this young church. <br /> <br /> With the blessing of quick growth also came the burden of needing a building to meet in. The whole story is amazing, but I will just say that the church needed 1.3 million in cash in 6 weeks in order to make it happen. The 600 adults and their children sacrificed in every way that they could and when the money was all counted the Lord had brought in 1.6 million dollars. God is great and greatly to be praised!!!<br /> I gleaned a ton from the leadership team and Pastor Rob in our time at Davenport. It was a tremendous blessing and they are so supportive of our efforts to plant in Calgary.<br /> <br /> They provided us with a lot of resources that will be very helpful in the months and years to come.<br /> I will include in this blog the video from the church's 5th anniversary Sunday from two Sundays ago. The church now has around 2000 people attending every Sunday. The video talks of just some of the lives that have been changed by Christ through Harvest Bible Chapel Davenport. Here it is:<br /> <br /> <div align="center"><br /> </div> <br /> <br /> The end of last week was awesome. Thursday and Friday we talked a lot about preaching God's Word focusing specifically on the presentation element. How we use our voices, the importance of words, and the overall presentation of a sermon. It was really good to stop and consider how we can grow in the presentation of God's mighty Word. I have heard Pastor James say that the greatest sin is to make the Word of God boring! If we get up and preach God's Word in a monotone voice with no passion we do a great injustice to God's Word. Saturday and Sunday we were in Davenport, Iowa visiting the Harvest Bible Chapel there. They just celebrated their 5th anniversary. We heard of life after life that has been radically changed by the Lord. I entitled this blog, "What a Redeemer". If you look up redeemer in the dictionary it defines a redeemer as someone who redeems. To redeem is: 1 a : to buy back : repurchase b : to get or win back 2 : to free from what distresses or harms: as a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental c : to release from blame or debt : clear d : to free from the consequences of sin. 3 : to change for the better : reform 4 : repair , restore . What a picture of what Christ does for the sinner who puts their faith in Christ. He frees us from captivity (Luke 4:18, Romans 7:6). Our ransom was paid by Christ (1 Tim.2:6). We are now new creatures in Christ (2 Cor.5:17). We have been radically changed for the better (Eph.4:24). We were privileged to hear how God is redeeming people in Davenport this last weekend. Pastor Rob took time out of his busy schedule and talked to all the guys in the training center about their story and the things that he has learned along the way. The common theme throughout his testimony was stepping out in faith and seeing He who is faithful do His work again and again. Pastor Rob told of a weekend where he received a phone call on Saturday night and he was told that they couldn't meet at the high school the next morning because there had been a water line break in the school building. So they began to scramble. The easy thing would have been to just cancel church. However, that was not an option for Pastor Rob. So they looked into their options. They could meet at the football field which had seating, but they also needed portable toilets which were required by law. In the 11th hour it all came together and they had service the next day. 17 people repented of their sins that day and believed on the Lord for their salvation. We heard story after story of God's grace and mercy in the life of this young church. With the blessing of quick growth also came the burden of needing a building to meet in. The whole story is amazing, but I will just say that the church needed 1.3 million in cash in 6 weeks in order to make it happen. The 600 adults and their children sacrificed in every way that they could and when the money was all counted the Lord had brought in 1.6 million dollars. God is great and greatly to be praised!!! I gleaned a ton from the leadership team and Pastor Rob in our time at Davenport. It was a tremendous blessing and they are so supportive of our efforts to plant in Calgary. They provided us with a lot of resources that will be very helpful in the months and years to come. I will include in this blog the video from the church's 5th anniversary Sunday from two Sundays ago. The church now has around 2000 people attending every...186065http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/186065-thumbnail.jpg?0911241153http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=185697http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=185697Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMTI speak on communication in marriage tonight here at Harvest Elgin. I am looking forward to it. I thought I would share some of the things that I learned as I was preparing.<br /> <br /> It's incredible to think that at one time on this earth that there was perfect communication. Of course this was before sin entered the world. Ever since then there has been problems with our communication. Here are a few of the negative things that we do in our communication. We nag one another. I found a great quote by Ann Landers on nagging. She said that nagging is like being nibbled to death by a duck. Proverbs compares nagging to a continual dripping on a rainy day (Pr.27:15)<br /> <br /> Yet nagging is something that all of us can fall into to in our communication. We often communicate to get something out of it. We want people to reaffirm us and tell us how well we are doing and how "great" we are. Our communication is often self focused. We are focusing not on what the other person is saying, but rather waiting for them to finish so that we can talk. We also use our words as a weapon. The person who said that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me...was a liar. We often tear people down and hurt them with our words. We use our words to gain an advantage over others. Words are used to manipulate.The tongue is a powerful thing. James wrote, " For ?we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body." (James 3:2) Yet in Christ we can use our tongue in ways that bring Him honor and glory.<br /> <br /> The base text that I am looking at tonight is Ephesians 4:25-32. We learn 4 important principles in communication that need to be applied in our homes and in our churches. First, we see in Ephesians 4:25 that we need to be honest with one another. Sorry guys, but you will notice that verse commands us to speak! Grunts and head nods are not sufficient if we are to fulfill our role as husbands, fathers and brothers in Christ. I am a slow learner. I am just realizing that Heather can not read my mind...not always anyways :)! When we speak we need to do it honestly and lovingly. Paul shows us not just the moral principle, but also the motivation behind being honest with one another. He says for you are members one of another. Chrystostom wrote, "If the eye sees a serpent, does it deceive the foot? If the tongue tastes what is bitter, does it deceive the stomach? Lying is a gross hindrance of the proper functioning of the body."<br /> As devasting as it would be for pieces of our physical body to deceive one another so it is in our relationships. We must speak the truth lovingly to one another out of our concern for one another.<br /> <br /> Second, we need to do is to keep short accounts with one another. Eph.4:26,27 "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, <strong>²⁷</strong> and give no opportunity to the devil." If we allow time to pass before getting things right we open ourselves to resentment and bitterness and give the devil an opportunity to tempt you to sin even further.<br /> <br /> Third, we need to use our tongue to edify and not tear down. Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." "No corrupting talk" is any talk that tears another person down. How do you use your words? Are people encouraged after they have spent time with you or have you torn them down in some way? How many of our conversations everyday would be different if we would just apply this verse everytime. How do you do in this area when it comes to your interactions with your spouse? <br /> <br /> Here is a sobering thought. When we do not build up, but rather tear down your spouse or others we not only hurt them, but we also grieve the Holy Spirit. This should stop us in our tracks and snap us to attention. The way we treat others has the possibility of grieving the Holy Spirit. This thought should drive us to be on our knees asking God to enable us to have no corrupting talk come out of our mouths, but only words that build up.<br /> <br /> Fourth, Paul concludes by showing once again the things which must be put away and the things which must be put on. The things that are to be put off are bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor, slander and malice. Instead, we need to be kind, tender hearted and forgiving. We need to be compassionate and seeking to do good to others. How do you apply this to your spouse? When is the last time you thought about how you could be a blessing to him or her? When is the last time you thought about how to be compassionate to your spouse? How quick are you to forgive?<br /> <br /> How are you doing in these 4 principles of communication? The Lord cares about how we communicate to one another. May He be honored in the way that we communicate with one another. I speak on communication in marriage tonight here at Harvest Elgin. I am looking forward to it. I thought I would share some of the things that I learned as I was preparing. It's incredible to think that at one time on this earth that there was perfect communication. Of course this was before sin entered the world. Ever since then there has been problems with our communication. Here are a few of the negative things that we do in our communication. We nag one another. I found a great quote by Ann Landers on nagging. She said that nagging is like being nibbled to death by a duck. Proverbs compares nagging to a continual dripping on a rainy day (Pr.27:15) Yet nagging is something that all of us can fall into to in our communication. We often communicate to get something out of it. We want people to reaffirm us and tell us how well we are doing and how "great" we are. Our communication is often self focused. We are focusing not on what the other person is saying, but rather waiting for them to finish so that we can talk. We also use our words as a weapon. The person who said that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me...was a liar. We often tear people down and hurt them with our words. We use our words to gain an advantage over others. Words are used to manipulate.The tongue is a powerful thing. James wrote, " For ?we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body." (James 3:2) Yet in Christ we can use our tongue in ways that bring Him honor and glory. The base text that I am looking at tonight is Ephesians 4:25-32. We learn 4 important principles in communication that need to be applied in our homes and in our churches. First, we see in Ephesians 4:25 that we need to be honest with one another. Sorry guys, but you will notice that verse commands us to speak! Grunts and head nods are not sufficient if we are to fulfill our role as husbands, fathers and brothers in Christ. I am a slow learner. I am just realizing that Heather can not read my mind...not always anyways :)! When we speak we need to do it honestly and lovingly. Paul shows us not just the moral principle, but also the motivation behind being honest with one another. He says for you are members one of another. Chrystostom wrote, "If the eye sees a serpent, does it deceive the foot? If the tongue tastes what is bitter, does it deceive the stomach? Lying is a gross hindrance of the proper functioning of the body." As devasting as it would be for pieces of our physical body to deceive one another so it is in our relationships. We must speak the truth lovingly to one another out of our concern for one another. Second, we need to do is to keep short accounts with one another. Eph.4:26,27 "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil." If we allow time to pass before getting things right we open ourselves to resentment and bitterness and give the devil an opportunity to tempt you to sin even further. Third, we need to use our tongue to edify and not tear down. Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." "No corrupting talk" is any talk that tears another person down. How do you use your words? Are people encouraged after they have spent time with you or have you torn them down in some...185697http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Content/10443/Thumbnails/185697-thumbnail.jpg?0911241126http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=185618http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=185618Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT    I can't believe how fast the weeks are going by. Yet another week is done at the Training Center and I am continually being challenged. In our preaching phase we discussed the importance of applicational preaching and how to go beyond general principles to "drill down" into the hearers' life. We also did many sermon evaluations. This exercise helps us think through the framework of a sermon. It helps in thinking through the nuts and bolts of a sermon. I have heard many times since I have got here that a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew. Doing sermon evaluations helps us think through how to best communicate God's Word.<br />     Part of my responsibility in my time here at Harvest has been to observe and help out with small groups.  Every small group follows the same format. There is some welcome time to start as everybody grabs some refreshments. Then there is 45 minutes of teaching. This is not to be lecture style, but rather interactive as the leader guides the discussion. The next 45 minutes are then spent in accountability time. This is guys with guys and girls with girls. The time is to be spent not only in sharing, but in prayer as the members spur one another on. The evening concludes with a time of fellowship. Small groups is a vital part of Harvest. The Elgin campus has over 70% of their congregation in a small group and would love to have more. This really provides the opprotunity for the congregation to do life together and to grow in their walk with the Lord.<br />     I am excited about the upcoming look of the website. A few other guys from the Training Center and myself had some productive time looking at what is needed for our websites. You should see some changes next week sometime. The changes should make the site look a lot better as well as helping it to be user friendly.<br />     This next weekend we are going to Davenport, Iowa to visit the Harvest church there. Heather will be joining me as we learn more about the ins and outs of Harvest and how they play out in a church plant situation. The church in Davenport was planted in 2004 and it has been very successful. God has really blessed the work there. So we are anticipating a great weekend in Davenport.<br />     Tomorrow, I am teaching a lesson on communication in marriage. I  will write some of my thoughts on that in a blog tomorrow. I would love to hear any feedback that any of you have as I write on different topics. Have a great week!<br />      I can't believe how fast the weeks are going by. Yet another week is done at the Training Center and I am continually being challenged. In our preaching phase we discussed the importance of applicational preaching and how to go beyond general principles to "drill down" into the hearers' life. We also did many sermon evaluations. This exercise helps us think through the framework of a sermon. It helps in thinking through the nuts and bolts of a sermon. I have heard many times since I have got here that a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew. Doing sermon evaluations helps us think through how to best communicate God's Word. Part of my responsibility in my time here at Harvest has been to observe and help out with small groups. Every small group follows the same format. There is some welcome time to start as everybody grabs some refreshments. Then there is 45 minutes of teaching. This is not to be lecture style, but rather interactive as the leader guides the discussion. The next 45 minutes are then spent in accountability time. This is guys with guys and girls with girls. The time is to be spent not only in sharing, but in prayer as the members spur one another on. The evening concludes with a time of fellowship. Small groups is a vital part of Harvest. The Elgin campus has over 70% of their congregation in a small group and would love to have more. This really provides the opprotunity for the congregation to do life together and to grow in their walk with the Lord. I am excited about the upcoming look of the website. A few other guys from the Training Center and myself had some productive time looking at what is needed for our websites. You should see some changes next week sometime. The changes should make the site look a lot better as well as helping it to be user friendly. This next weekend we are going to Davenport, Iowa to visit the Harvest church there. Heather will be joining me as we learn more about the ins and outs of Harvest and how they play out in a church plant situation. The church in Davenport was planted in 2004 and it has been very successful. God has really blessed the work there. So we are anticipating a great weekend in Davenport. Tomorrow, I am teaching a lesson on communication in marriage. I will write some of my thoughts on that in a blog tomorrow. I would love to hear any feedback that any of you have as I write on different topics. Have a great week!185618http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=184722http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=184722Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT    This last weekend many churches around the world took time to remember those believers who are being persecuted for their faith. Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago joined them. Many people don't realize the extent of the persecution that many face.  I wanted to share with you some of the stats that were given to us. Since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, over 43 million Christians have become martyrs for Christ, and half of these were in the last century alone. More than 200 million Christians face persecution each day. 60% of them are children. Every day, 300 people are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.<br />     These stats are staggering when we think of what we face here in North America.  <div> <div id="ftn1"> <div style="margin: 0in;">We need to remember those brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering. The writer of Hebrews writes, "?Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.<a href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"></a>" (Heb.13:3)  <div> <div id="ftn1"> <div style="margin: 0in;">Very often the prisons that many of these believers are kept in are very unlike anything that we see here in North America. They are kept in very poor conditions. How often do I stop and consider the horrendous conditions that my fellow brothers and sisters are put in because of their faith? Sadly, not often at all. My challenge to you is to remember your brothers and sisters around the world who are being put under such terrible persecution. Please remember to pray for them. You can goto <a href="http://www.harvestbiblechapel.org">www.harvestbiblechapel.org</a> to download prayer guides. You can also find out more about the persecution that believers are facing at the following websites: <a href="http://www.persecution.com">www.persecution.com</a>; <a href="http://www.opendoorsusa.org">www.opendoorsusa.org</a>; <a href="http://www.kidsofcourage.com">www.kidsofcourage.com</a>; <a href="http://www.gmi.org/ow">www.gmi.org/ow</a>. <br />     One of the families from our church had traveled to India this last year and they shared about a Christian orphanage that they had visited. In the last year the orphanage had underwent persecution by the Hindus. They imprisoned the leaders of the orphanage for 40 days. The prison was dark and conditions were terrible. The Hindus then told the children that they must worship their gods now. One of the older children spoke up and told the children to stay strong and worship only the one true God. The Hindus deprived the children of food for days to try and get them to recant and bow down to their gods. After having no food for several days they told the kids that if they just would bow down to their gods they could have the oranges that they held out in the palm of their hands. The kids took the oranges...and then they threw them back at them and said that they must worship only one God, Jesus Christ. What a testimony! The leaders were eventually returned, but they continue to be hassled by the Hindu people who are trying to get them to recant of their position of holding to only one true God.<br />     My prayer is that you would be bolder in your own faith by reading about these young children. They aren't caught up in the things of this world. They live for Christ everyday, not knowing if tomorrow will be their last. We experience our share of ridicule and mockery in North America, but what is that compared to someone hearing the good news of Jesus Christ and being saved from eternity in hell. This is something that I believe the persecuted believers understand that we often lose sight of. Life is short and we need to take every opportunity to share Christ with those around us.<br />     I have been reading through Isaiah lately. As I read through it, I have been reminded in a new and powerful way that God is sovereign over all of this earth. Evil will not prevail! God will put an end to all of it someday soon and He will reign upon this earth as King! Isaiah 24 is a gripping reminder of the power and sovereign control that the Lord has over all the earth. <br />     So pray for the persecuted, pray for their protection (Romans 15:30-32), pray that God would give them the words to fearlessly make Christ known (Eph.6:19,20, Col.4:2-4), pray that they will rejoice that they are considered worthy to share in the sufferings of Jesus (Heb.10:34; 1 Pet.4:13; Acts 5:41) and that they will remember their unbelievable future glory and love Christ's appearing all the more (Rom.8:18; 2 Tim.4:5-8; Rev.12:11).</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> This last weekend many churches around the world took time to remember those believers who are being persecuted for their faith. Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago joined them. Many people don't realize the extent of the persecution that many face. I wanted to share with you some of the stats that were given to us. Since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, over 43 million Christians have become martyrs for Christ, and half of these were in the last century alone. More than 200 million Christians face persecution each day. 60% of them are children. Every day, 300 people are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. These stats are staggering when we think of what we face here in North America. We need to remember those brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering. The writer of Hebrews writes, "?Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. " (Heb.13:3) Very often the prisons that many of these believers are kept in are very unlike anything that we see here in North America. They are kept in very poor conditions. How often do I stop and consider the horrendous conditions that my fellow brothers and sisters are put in because of their faith? Sadly, not often at all. My challenge to you is to remember your brothers and sisters around the world who are being put under such terrible persecution. Please remember to pray for them. You can goto www.harvestbiblechapel.org to download prayer guides. You can also find out more about the persecution that believers are facing at the following websites: www.persecution.com ; www.opendoorsusa.org ; www.kidsofcourage.com ; www.gmi.org/ow . One of the families from our church had traveled to India this last year and they shared about a Christian orphanage that they had visited. In the last year the orphanage had underwent persecution by the Hindus. They imprisoned the leaders of the orphanage for 40 days. The prison was dark and conditions were terrible. The Hindus then told the children that they must worship their gods now. One of the older children spoke up and told the children to stay strong and worship only the one true God. The Hindus deprived the children of food for days to try and get them to recant and bow down to their gods. After having no food for several days they told the kids that if they just would bow down to their gods they could have the oranges that they held out in the palm of their hands. The kids took the oranges...and then they threw them back at them and said that they must worship only one God, Jesus Christ. What a testimony! The leaders were eventually returned, but they continue to be hassled by the Hindu people who are trying to get them to recant of their position of holding to only one true God. My prayer is that you would be bolder in your own faith by reading about these young children. They aren't caught up in the things of this world. They live for Christ everyday, not knowing if tomorrow will be their last. We experience our share of ridicule and mockery in North America, but what is that compared to someone hearing the good news of Jesus Christ and being saved from eternity in hell. This is something that I believe the persecuted believers understand that we often lose sight of. Life is short and we need to take every opportunity to share Christ with those around us. I have been reading through Isaiah lately. As I read through it, I have been reminded in a new...184722http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=184710http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=184710Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT <p>    I have a lot to tell you this week, so I think I will put this into two posts. I will begin by telling you about my week at the Training Center and then I would like to share with you some thoughts on the persecuted church and the sovereignty of God.<br />     Yet, another full week at the Training Center. This week we primarily focused on crafting illustrations for sermons. Ilustrations can be defined as anything that opens windows of understanding. They connect us emotionally<strong> </strong>with the text. It is a catalyst that brings understanding more quickly. As a pastor it is an important tool to relay God's message. We see God Himself use illustration throughout the Bible. Jesus often used illustrations as He relayed God's truth to His audience. I am very thankful for this opportunity to concentrate on each aspect of a sermon. Our instructor, David Jones, has been giving us different truths to illustrate and then we have to craft them and present them to the rest of the class. I have found the exercise to be very helpful.<br />     We also had the opportunity to meet with Pastor James for a few hours. We began to look at how to outline Revelation 3:14-21, talked about leadership, administration and the role of the Pastor. Once again a very fruitful time learning under Pastor James.<br />     Yesterday, a few of us guys from the Training Center went over to Granger, Indiana with Pastor Craig Steiner. Craig is on staff with Harvest Bible Chapel Elgin and he is in charge of small groups and assimiliation. HBC Granger has been in operation for about 8 months now and it is doing very well. It was a joy to go and be a part of the service there. The worship was fantastic and Pastor Craig did a great job preaching out of Matt.14. They have also done a great job of transforming the school that they are meeting in into a warm atmosphere to worship together in. The crew that sets up and tears down is to be commended. <br />     God is doing a work in Granger. We heard of a man who had come several weeks before. He came because he worked in an office adjacent to the church office. The pastor was speaking on marriage. The man, who himself was having marital problems, was so convicted that he left half way through the service, a broken man. He contacted the pastor on Monday and on Tuesday he repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. The next day he went and bought Bibles for himself, his wife and his children and they have been attending the church ever since. God has the power to transform lives! <br />     Many people are flocking to Harvest Bible Chapel Granger and Harvest Bible Chapels around North America to be fed God's Word. Sadly, many have attended churches where the Word is being watered down or has been replaced by psychological or philosophical jargon meant to "make your life better".  Every Harvest Bible Chapel has as one of their pillars, "to preach the truth of God's Word without apology." I have heard so many people testify  that they are so thankful for the depth of teaching that are receiving at Harvest. This is one of the reasons that I believe that God is blessing Harvest in the way that He is.  <br /> <br /> Isaiah 55:10,11   “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but ?it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (ESV)<br /> <br />     My prayer is that all Christian churches will return to giving the Word of God it's rightful place within the church. Culture and the views of man are not to be our authority, but rather the Word of God. May God raise up many more churches like Harvest who will preach God's Word with apology. It is time that the church once again stands behind the authority of God's Word and quits trying to accomodate the opinions of men. For I fear that there are churches today who have left Jesus outside their church knocking on the door as He did to the church of Laodecia. However, Jesus is gracious and merciful and if these churches would only repent God will once again use them as He once has before.  Rev.3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and ?knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.<a href="http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4"></a>" (ESV)  Revive your church oh Lord!</p> <div> <div id="ftn1"></div> </div> I have a lot to tell you this week, so I think I will put this into two posts. I will begin by telling you about my week at the Training Center and then I would like to share with you some thoughts on the persecuted church and the sovereignty of God. Yet, another full week at the Training Center. This week we primarily focused on crafting illustrations for sermons. Ilustrations can be defined as anything that opens windows of understanding. They connect us emotionally with the text. It is a catalyst that brings understanding more quickly. As a pastor it is an important tool to relay God's message. We see God Himself use illustration throughout the Bible. Jesus often used illustrations as He relayed God's truth to His audience. I am very thankful for this opportunity to concentrate on each aspect of a sermon. Our instructor, David Jones, has been giving us different truths to illustrate and then we have to craft them and present them to the rest of the class. I have found the exercise to be very helpful. We also had the opportunity to meet with Pastor James for a few hours. We began to look at how to outline Revelation 3:14-21, talked about leadership, administration and the role of the Pastor. Once again a very fruitful time learning under Pastor James. Yesterday, a few of us guys from the Training Center went over to Granger, Indiana with Pastor Craig Steiner. Craig is on staff with Harvest Bible Chapel Elgin and he is in charge of small groups and assimiliation. HBC Granger has been in operation for about 8 months now and it is doing very well. It was a joy to go and be a part of the service there. The worship was fantastic and Pastor Craig did a great job preaching out of Matt.14. They have also done a great job of transforming the school that they are meeting in into a warm atmosphere to worship together in. The crew that sets up and tears down is to be commended. God is doing a work in Granger. We heard of a man who had come several weeks before. He came because he worked in an office adjacent to the church office. The pastor was speaking on marriage. The man, who himself was having marital problems, was so convicted that he left half way through the service, a broken man. He contacted the pastor on Monday and on Tuesday he repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. The next day he went and bought Bibles for himself, his wife and his children and they have been attending the church ever since. God has the power to transform lives! Many people are flocking to Harvest Bible Chapel Granger and Harvest Bible Chapels around North America to be fed God's Word. Sadly, many have attended churches where the Word is being watered down or has been replaced by psychological or philosophical jargon meant to "make your life better". Every Harvest Bible Chapel has as one of their pillars, "to preach the truth of God's Word without apology." I have heard so many people testify that they are so thankful for the depth of teaching that are receiving at Harvest. This is one of the reasons that I believe that God is blessing Harvest in the way that He is. Isaiah 55:10,11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but ?it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent...184710http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=183524http://www.harvestcalgary.ca/Blog.aspx?site_id=10443&entry_id=183524Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT    Another week is complete and yet another week of learning. Tuesday was a great day as we worked through Revelation 3:7-13 with Pastor James. He gave us a lot of great insight as showed us how he works through a passage when he is preparing a sermon. What a priveldge to sit under one of the best expositors in our country. I am learning a lot about the process of moving from explaination to illustration and application. Pastor James has a great ability in this regard. I am very excited about seeing how God uses His Word through Pastor James this weekend.<br />     We also had an opportunity to practice baptising. One of the campus pastors pretended to be a person wanting to be baptised. So then we all took turns entering the tank with him and going through the process of receiving his testimony and then baptising him. It was a great learning process as he presented different scenarios that have been seen through the years.<br />     We also learned about how to do hospital visitation in an effective way. In a way that is a blessing to the patient, the family and the doctors and nurses. What a blessing to think through this important aspect of the ministry. Folks that are sick and families that are mourning deserve the best possible care from their Pastor.<br />     We also had the opportunity to sit and observe a leadership meeting for the 5 campuses. Although this meeting is on such a larger level than I may ever see at HBC Calgary, it is very helpful to think things through how to lead a leadership team. There are many things that I have gleaned through having the opportunity to sit in on these meetings.<br />     In our classroom time we have been evaluating old sermons done by each of the guys in the class. This is done to think through how the sermon could have been formed better. This is a humbling but very important practice. We also discussed the structure of the sermon.<br />     This weekend I will have the opportunity to be with Pastor Rick on Sunday morning, learning from him and how he ministers on Sunday morning. I will also attend a small group Sunday afternoon. <br />     Another great week. Praying for those who have commited to be a part of the core team. Each night as the girls go to bed we have a family prayer time and we have been praying for a different family each night. What a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ! Have a great weekend as you worship the King of Kings!<br /> <br /> Trevor Another week is complete and yet another week of learning. Tuesday was a great day as we worked through Revelation 3:7-13 with Pastor James. He gave us a lot of great insight as showed us how he works through a passage when he is preparing a sermon. What a priveldge to sit under one of the best expositors in our country. I am learning a lot about the process of moving from explaination to illustration and application. Pastor James has a great ability in this regard. I am very excited about seeing how God uses His Word through Pastor James this weekend. We also had an opportunity to practice baptising. One of the campus pastors pretended to be a person wanting to be baptised. So then we all took turns entering the tank with him and going through the process of receiving his testimony and then baptising him. It was a great learning process as he presented different scenarios that have been seen through the years. We also learned about how to do hospital visitation in an effective way. In a way that is a blessing to the patient, the family and the doctors and nurses. What a blessing to think through this important aspect of the ministry. Folks that are sick and families that are mourning deserve the best possible care from their Pastor. We also had the opportunity to sit and observe a leadership meeting for the 5 campuses. Although this meeting is on such a larger level than I may ever see at HBC Calgary, it is very helpful to think things through how to lead a leadership team. There are many things that I have gleaned through having the opportunity to sit in on these meetings. In our classroom time we have been evaluating old sermons done by each of the guys in the class. This is done to think through how the sermon could have been formed better. This is a humbling but very important practice. We also discussed the structure of the sermon. This weekend I will have the opportunity to be with Pastor Rick on Sunday morning, learning from him and how he ministers on Sunday morning. I will also attend a small group Sunday afternoon. Another great week. Praying for those who have commited to be a part of the core team. Each night as the girls go to bed we have a family prayer time and we have been praying for a different family each night. What a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ! Have a great weekend as you worship the King of Kings! Trevor183524