Souljourn

Day off

 Today Naomi and I went up to Paradise Meadows and walked in to Helen Mackenzie lake (6km roundtrip).  It was a great place to do some reading, journaling and work on memorizing Psalm 19.  We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful spot.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God, the skies display His craftmanship....they speak without a sound or word, their voice is never heard.  Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, their words to all the world.

 

UPDATE:

Tonight Hudson wanted to go down to the church and practice on the drums so here is where I spent some of the evening finishing off my book (Jesus Culture by Banning Liebscher).  Now I really do need to find another book to read.  I'm still open to your suggestions but I do have a couple of ideas.

 

Monday morning tidbits

Here are a couple items from my Monday.

• I am just about finished reading Banning Liebscher's book Jesus Culture and I don't have another book lined up to read yet.  I usually have the next book I'm going to read before I'm finished my current one so this is a little different.  If you're quick I'd love to hear some of your suggestions?

• I started a new journal today.  Over the last couple of years I have really enjoyed developing the habit of journaling.  However, I must admit that some days as I write, in my mind I am comparing what I am writing to the journals of some of the saints that now serve as devotionals and I get a little depressed.  In my mind I'd like to be taking great strides forward but most days it looks a lot like simple plodding.  

• I am working on memorizing Psalm 19 (thank you Mark Buchanan Spiritual Rhythms) and think I've just about got it.

Four questions to ask ourselves before going to church

In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul addresses a problem in the church.  They were gathering for the wrong reasons and their gathering was actually doing more harm than it was good.  A consumer type mentality had crept into their midst where people were approaching church gatherings with a 'what's in it for me?' mentality.

To help them out of this dangerous place Paul gives them some instructions that can be summed up in these four questions.

1. Am I remembering Jesus? -  v.26

The Christian life can too easily become a life of discipline when it was intended to be a life of passion.  We need to keep Jesus before us constantly and live in response to His example of love, sacrifice and service to others.  I know for myself, when I remain focussed on Jesus, so many of life's situations and circumstances are handled so much differently.

 2. Am I regularly taking time to examine myself? -  v.28

  Our great need is not for another sermon, but rather to put into practice what we have already learned.  I need to regularly pause and ask myself, 'Is there any area of my life where I am knowingly living contrary to God's Word?' and then I need to take the appropriate actions to remedy that. 

3. Am I eating at home? - v.34

 Is the sermon on Sunday my one meal a week or am I feeding myself in God's Word and worship?  If I show up famished then I am definitely going to be in the posture of a taker, whereas if I'm regularly eating at home I show up ready to give.

4. Am I ready to serve others? -  v.33

Am I sensitive to the needs of those around me when we gather?  Am I coming with a readiness to serve others so that their needs might be met (remember, I ate at home so I don't really need to eat again)?

 

Paul's clear implication in chapter 11 is that if we will ask ourselves these questions;  the Body of Jesus will be represented properly on the earth, the Church will be sought out by people, the needs of people will be met, and we will be healthy and strong in our faith.

 

 

 

 

No thanks, I ate at home

What would our Sunday morning gatherings (and Saturday night) look like if we 'ate at home'?  I guess you'll just have to come to church this morning to find out.  Just for some context, we are continuing on with our series through 1 Corinthians and looking at chapter 11.

ps. you can check back here later for more info if you're not able to gather with us.

Favourite hymn?

During our Thanksgiving services we sang the hymn, All Creatures of our God and King.  It is a great hymn that speaks of creation joining together in a chorus of praise to our glorious God.  Later that week at our staff meeting we were reviewing the services and I was amused to hear that some of our younger staff thought it was a song written by David Crowder (he did record this song in 2003 but it was written long before that by Francis of Assissi in 1225).

When I hear (or hum/sing) certain hymns that are like majestic anthems to God I can't help but being stirred (this happens to a lesser degree when I remember the scene from The Hunt for Red October with Sean Connery leading Russian submariners in the Russian National Anthem).  Hymns carry with them not only an emotional stirring, but a depth of theology as they speak to the character of God and His great plan of redemption.

We are going to be incorporating some hymns, and the stories behind them, in our Advent series this Christmas (starting Nov 27/28) and I would love to get your input.  What are some of your favourite hymns?

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, we will NOT be incorporating I'll Fly Away into our Advent series.

 

Saturday morning round up

Here are some odd/funny/weird items I came across this week.

1. Spider Goats - goats in Italy scale a 160 foot dam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Chris Tomlin and my next haircut?

3. What are the chances of this?  (50 million to one apparently) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Good reminder for me not to jog with my shirt off

An ancient Prayer for modern times

Francis of Assissi lived and ministered in the 12th Century.  There was no electricity, no automobiles, no internet, no Starbucks, no iphones and airplanes.  Life was totally different then than it is now.  And yet in looking at his prayer it seems that nothing has changed at all.   What a great prayer to pray.

The Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,  Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;  to be understood as to understand;  to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive;  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;  and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

 

Meetings

Today was a full day of meetings.  Phone meetings, staff meetings, lunch meetings and planning meetings (topped off by picking up my kids from a youth meeting). It was a great day.  Not because I particularly like meetings, but because I had the chance to spend time with some great people hearing answers to prayer, discussing some exciting ministry opportunities on the horizon, and making some decisions to help us more effectively share God's Word.  

If you are already feeling that this year is going by too quickly you may not want to hear this, but we spent a good deal of time planning Christmas.  We discussed some great ideas for worship and our Advent services, as well as Christmas eve and our Boxing Day door crasher prizes (stay tuned for more on that!). I think we've got some great ideas that I really believe people are going to connect well with.

I'm privileged to serve at an amazing Church and work alongside amazing leaders.

Oh and the icing on the cake, when I went to pick up our kids from youth I found out that two teens said YES to Jesus tonight.  

What a great day!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm 4:6,7

⁶ Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
      Let your face smile on us, Lord.
 ⁷ You have given me greater joy
      than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.

 

The importance of rest

Naomi and I returned today from a week of rest in Northern California.  Thanks to our Foursquare denomination we had the opportunity to take part in the Genesee Home sabbatical week for pastors.  This meant we got to spend  five days on a 1600 acre ranch in the mountainous forest of Northern California in a beautifully refurbished Victorian farm home. There was no cell service, internet, or television, and it was....WONDERFUL!  We took some walks, read some books, spent time praying and talking, and just generally relaxed (oh yeah, we also chopped and stacked over a cord of firewood, but that was something we asked to do).

I was reminded again during this time about the importance of rest and simply spending time quietly being with God.  It was so refreshing to be able to spend unhurried amounts of time reading God's Word.  I don't do this well (resting, not reading) but it is something I must get better at.  By resting I don't mean "vegging".  That is something entirely different and even large amounts of time spent doing this does not refresh.  To rest is to intentionally participate in activities that refill our tank (so the chopping wood was actually resting!)  

It wasn't hard to rest during a prescribed week, but now that I'm back home with all my familiar routines it is going to require some effort.  That probably sounds a little conflicted, having to work at resting, but nonetheless it's true.  I have been a sabbath breaker for far too long and I need to get this right.  I'll keep you posted along the way, and let me add that I hope you take time to rest as well.  

Here were the two books I read this week.  If you are looking for a book to read I would highly recommend Mark Buchanans new book Spiritual Rhythm.

And now speaking of rest, I need to go to bed, it's 11:38 pm.