News from the Pews

A Miracle: The Widow's Oil

2009-07-10T20:30:00.010-06:00

Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:1-7, Prov 3:5-12, Exodus 4, John 14:12-14, 1 john 5:14-15, Isaiah 43

Pastor Dave Hepburn of Whitewood, SK gave the message on Sunday while Pastor Lorne ministered with the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys.

Pastor Dave based his message on 2 Kings 4:1-7 which is the story about the widow’s oil. He said the lady was in dire need when she came to the prophet Elisha. She had come to the end of herself. Her husband was dead and she had a debt she owed and the creditor was about to take her sons as slaves. Back in those days, there was no social insurance, no welfare. In fact, no one who could come and help her out. She only had her 2 sons to pay the debt yet as they grew older, they had become her helpers.

In our country, our needs aren’t as substantial as many people in other parts of the world. When we’re sick, we go to a doctor.

When our cupboards are bare, we go to the grocery store. Many places in the world don’t have doctors or grocery stores available to them.

Pastor Dave asked us to look at Prov 3:5-12 which states, ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.’

Pastor Dave said this woman came to the end of herself. She knew what was coming. She was coming to the beginning of God’s ability. When we come to the end of our self, we come to God’s abilities. We need to trust Him with all our heart not only in the tough times, but in all times.

Instead of asking what she wanted him to do, Elisha asked what she had in the house. What she had was a jar of oil. Not a huge jar for cooking but according to Hebrew tradition, a small flask used for anointing. She had no money and no livestock for food.

Pastor Dave said there are times when we feel we don’t have much to offer God. He says he can’t sing, can’t speak well, and he’s too shy to visit the neighbours, so what can he offer the Lord? He referred to Exodus 4 when God is calling Moses to the task of leading the Israelites. God had greater plans for Moses than what Moses wanted to do. Moses questioned God’s judgment. God used the miracles of a rod turning into a snake, a hand turning leprous, and fresh water from the Nile turning into blood to show Moses that He was all-powerful and would be with Moses as he faced the people. Moses still had his misgivings about his speech and eloquence but v11-12, says, ‘The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." '

Pastor Dave said there is a lesson in these words that God will not call you to do something you don’t have the ability to do. He wanted to encourage us that the Lord is willing to offer to you that which you need to fulfill your task. God will be with us until the ends of the earth. He won’t leave us helpless.

John 14:12-14 says, ’12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’

The same writer of the Gospel of John also wrote 1 john 5:14-15 which says, ‘14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.’

Do you know that He hears us? Pastor Dave said we can have confidence that God listens to us when we go before Him in His throne room. When the veil of the temple was torn in two, it meant we could now go into the very presence of the almighty God – bypassing the priests – and lay our concerns before Him.

Now back to the widow, Pastor Dave said, 2 things are a key to this miracle:
- She believed in God enough to be obedient
- She gathered the vessels and sent her sons to gather more

When they brought the first vessel, she filled it, set it aside and filled the next, and the next, and the next, until there were no more to fill. The Bible says the oil was stopped when the last empty vessel was filled. This lady could have gone home and done nothing. The creditors would have taken her sons and her debt would have been paid. But she trusted God enough to be obedient. And her sons needed to trust God as well otherwise they would become the payment.

Pastor Dave said the Bible never says we’re not going to go through bad times – it just says God will be with us when we do.

He referred to Isaiah 43 and said there are times we wonder if God will answer our prayers when we have trials. Pastor Dave said he had a trial last spring. He had bulls for sale in the paper, but no one phoned about them. From a farmer’s perspective, no phone calls equates to no sales. He had bills due at the end of June but no money to pay them. So, he decided to start hauling bulls to the auction. When the time came, he got a phone call from a guy who wanted to see the bulls. He brought a neighbour and together, they bought 2. The next guy looked and left. Next guy bought 2. The second guy came back and bought 2.

Pastor Dave said God answered when the time was needed. He said he even sold more than he needed to pay the bills. And yet another farmer didn’t even get any phone calls. Pastor Dave said he praised God for opening the doors when they seemed closed. He said God isn’t just Jehovah Jireh up on the mountain with Abraham. God will provide always.

He said we need to be like this woman. Be obedient to Him. And we need to do something with the miracle He provides. God provided the miracle to the widow. She had the oil. That was nice. All those barrels. What will she do? The creditors are still coming for her sons. The jars are full. God did His part. What’s going to happen? She asks the prophet and Elisha tells her to sell the oil and pay the creditor.

Pastor Dave said sometimes we’re given a miracle and don’t do anything with it. He said we believe the greatest miracle of all – salvation – and yet we hide it under a basket. The Father in heaven is the one that makes the miracles in our lives but we must do something with those miracles so the people can glorify God.

Let’s not hide our light under a basket. Let the people see the glory of God. You may think it’s a stretch but if that widow had an infinite number of jars, she could still be filling them today.

God’s power is infinite. There’s no measure to His grace. And the same God who filled the jars for that lady in Biblical times and gave her enough so she had money left over after her debt was paid is the very same God who knows your needs and your hardships. He still has the ability today to meet those needs. He still knows our needs. He still cares for us.

Do we believe God can meet our needs today as He met that woman’s long ago?
We need to be obedient and surrender our lives to Him completely and wholly.

Pastor Dave doesn’t have much to offer the Lord and yet God met the woman’s need with the little flask of oil. The oil represents God’s Spirit – so His love and Spirit can overflow into our lives and into other people’s lives.

He said God is here to meet your needs. We need to know the difference between needs and greeds so we don’t get them mixed up. God is here to meet our needs. The Bible says if we ask Him anything according to His will, He hears us. If we pray for boldness, God will not say no.

Whatever it may be, the Lord is here. And He wants to meet us and hear our prayers.

If you wish to talk to Pastor Dave about this message, please send an email.

The Importance of the Word of God

2009-05-28T20:00:00.003-06:00

Pastor Lorne continued his series on being a Disciple of Christ by reminding us of the importance of the Word of God.

We need a daily time with God’s word so when we come across situations where we need answers, the Word will already be in our hearts to fall back on. As we study the Word, the Holy Spirit will bring Scriptures to our memory and tell us how to react in situations.

We really need to live the Word of God. John 1:1 says, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ And a bit further in v14, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, theglory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ Pastor Lorne says every time he reads the word, he thinks he understands it but the greatness of God overwhelms him. He said his interpretation is that the word of God is Jesus. We know Jesus through the Bible. Pastor Lorne said he knows us because he can actually see us and talk to us. But Jesus isn’t here in the physical form. No man has seen God, but we can know him through his Word. As a disciple of Christ, we need his Word deep down in our hearts.

Pastor Lorne said he knows people don’t have time to read several chapters every day, but he finds even 1 or 2 verses of Scripture helps. Found in the church foyer, the Daily Bread is a nice free little booklet which shows a daily Bible reading and a story to start your day. Pastor Lorne says during the day as he’s doing whatever he needs to do, he’ll remember the story or Scripture in the Daily Bread. In other words, it sticks with him throughout the day. Or, if he turns to his Bible after something has happened, he’ll usually find a verse that will relate to the same circumstance.

Everyone has daily rituals like brushing their hair and teeth, showering, maybe shaving. You take time for what is important to you. Part of that ritual should be to make time for the Lord and let His word speak to your heart at the same time every day. God’s heart is His word, the Bible. It’s teaches us and is the light to lead our path. Just a little bit of time spent in the word. Pastor Lorne said you will be surprised how accurate the Spirit of God knows your life and what you’re going through and he’ll have the right Scripture for you in your particular situation.

Pastor Lorne reminded us of his visit to Hungary. He said he met a German who did whatever he needed to become a farrier including university courses. Then, for on job training, he lived with a Master farrier for 2 yrs and went out with him for calls and whatever situations demanded a farrier. He even had to dig the Master farrier’s potatoes when required.

To Pastor Lorne, that paints a picture of how we as a Disciples of Christ, should follow Him daily and see how He handles(ed) each situation. Sometimes in our life we have to dig the potatoes even if it has nothing to do with our calling. Maybe God brings it into our lives for balance.

The way we follow Christ and see how He dealt with situations is through his Word. There are 66 books in the Bible written by 40 authors and they all have the same theme. So many years and they all point to Christ:
- Psalm 119:89 says, ‘Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.’
- Isaiah 40:8 says, ‘The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."
- Mattt 24:35 ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’

No matter what else is going on in the world, the word of God stands true and will be there forever.

The word of god is inspired. 2 Tim 3:16 & 17 says, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.’

The Word of God shows examples of right from wrong and it shows the path. It shows how to love and trust and even the proper way to rebuke – a touchy subject which Pastor Lorne said he doesn’t like doing too much. He said if you were to go to him and say something, he wouldn’t like it but, if you go to him with the word of god and say, “Look what you’re doing”, Pastor Lorne has to take it because it’s what the word of god says to do.

The Word of God is used for correcting. A teacher corrects and uses a reference. So, when someone corrects us with the word of god, they are following a reference.

The Word of God is used in training righteousness – as a disciple of Christ, we get to know His Word, it will make our lives easier because we have a reference to fall back on – a clear idea of what we have to do.

The Word of God is powerful. Rom 1:16 says, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile).’ The Word of God is so powerful, it can change lives and make a difference. Pastor Lorne could spend his time with us and start off on some analogy or motivational speech but there’s no power in that. The Word of God has the power of God. When you believe in the power of God and it’s in your heart and you live it, there’s a power in your heart. Pastor Lorne can motivate us but he is totally powerless to change our situations. But the Bible says the Word of God gives correction, and when we come to Christ, the Word of God gives us the power to change whatever situation we are in at that time.

Make sure your life has the Word of God in it. You don’t need to be a great theologian with 6 or 7 yrs in seminary. Just spend 5 mins every morning in Scripture and let God speak to you. Your faith will build up. Heb 4:12 says, ‘For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’ Isn’t that good news? The living God is living and active and it gives power to go through any problems you may have.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage you to get some of the Word of God into your heart. He wants to emphasize there are 66 books and lots of chapters and Psalm 119 is daunting. Bbut you know what it says in Psalm 119:105 – ‘Thy Word is a lamp under my path and a light unto my path.’

Pastor Lorne remembers being at camp and the kids would play tricks on the counselors. He said they would check to see if any kids were hiding in the bushes and as he walked in the dark, he felt a wire where the kids had placed it across the path so he was able to step over it. Let Christ light your path in life so you know where to go and what to do.

Quite often the Word of God won’t show the end, but far enough to see a bit, then a bit more as your go forward, just like car lights when you’re driving at night and your car lights shine in the dark and light up the distance ahead, a bit at a time.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage you to look in the Word of God even if it’s only for one verse so you have it in your mind throughout the day.

If you'd like to take to Pastor Lorne please email.

Be a Disciple: Pray

2009-05-13T17:51:00.005-06:00

Scriptures: Matt:14-13-14, Luke 18:1, Luke 18:10-14, John 17

Ashlee sang a lingering, worshipful song written by her brother, Josh. Jessica accompanied her on the piano. Ashlee flies out of Regina on Wed, May 13th but won’t arrive home in Australia until Friday. Please pray for her safe arrival.

Pastor Lorne wanted to continue his message about being a being disciple of Christ. He said it’s one thing to accept Christ as our Savior to escape spending an eternity it hell, but it’s another thing entirely to be a disciple of Christ and a real follower.

The definition of a disciple is: someone who follows the teachings of someone else. So, to be a disciple of Christ, you must follow his example.

Pastor Lorne reminded us of a church that was ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’. It translates into a big church with lots of things happening, but the people aren’t really disciples of Christ. And when the pastor left, the church fell apart.

For you to become a real disciple of Christ, you must first have an experience with God. We must take Him into ourselves and take on the characteristics of Christ before we can be real disciple of Him.

Pastor Lorne said Christ was motivated to heal the sick, feed the hungry, cast out demons, and bring people back to life because he had compassion for the people who wept over them.
But another big part of Christ’s life was that he spent a lot of time in prayer.

Pastor Lorne mentioned his own life. When he was growing up, prayer never appealed to him. He was too busy to spend time on his knees as there was always other things to do. Of course, he’d always pray when he got into a bind. As he grew older, he found one of the best times of the day is when he spends time in prayer and gets away to the Lord. Usually early in the morning because it makes the day go better, but sometimes late at night so he can think about the next day. He goes to the Lord in prayer and leaves it with Him and everything comes into perspective and he can manage things better.

Turn your attention to how Jesus dealt with prayer. To Pastor Lorne, it stood out that Jesus was the Son of God because He:
- fed 5,000 men plus women and children on one little boy’s lunch
- healed the sick
- cast out demons
- conquered death
- commanded the weather to obey Him, and it did

Pastor Lorne commented it would really be something to have the ability to direct the weather. Except, we’d all want something different and it would never work.

But why would Jesus need to pray?

In Matt 14:13, Jesus hears about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, and goes off by himself to pray. But, he’s not there very long before the crowds discover him. V14 says, ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Pastor Lorne said he would have thought Jesus would be on a high after performing these great miracles, but He sent the crowd home, and his disciples on ahead, and He went up a mountain and prayed. If Jesus did that when He was in mourning, how much more do we need to develop a life of prayer – to develop a relationship with him – and become a true disciple of Christ?

You don’t need to take 6 hrs of your day and spend it in prayer. Work, families and the world keep us busy. We don’t have time to spend hours in prayer. But, if you can work it out to have just 5 mins somewhere in your life, it will make a great difference. Christ did that – He took time to pray after his greatest triumphs.

People say the greatest time of temptation is when they see a great power performed. So, find a little place and make some time in your busy life. Maybe while you’re driving to work even. Or, maybe while you’re working in the kitchen. It doesn’t matter where, but have that relationship with Him. It’s very important to just take a few mins to pray and seek His face. Pastor Lorne said it’s a great thing to pray together, but it’s just as important to pray alone.

Luke 18:1 says “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” This is the story of the judge who didn’t care about anybody but the lady kept coming and asking for help. This women continued to come so finally the judge said he’d find out what and take care of it so she wouldn’t bother him anymore. Thank goodness God isn’t like that. We can keep going back over and over and He never gets tired of listening to us.

In Luke 18:10-14, two men go up to the temple to pray. Jesus gives us this example that when we go before Him, we need to open all the rooms in our house. Maybe you have a room in your house that you’re not using and keep shoving stuff in it and keep the door closed from company to hide the junk. Pastor Lorne believes when we go before Christ, we need t open all the rooms of our house. Like the tax collector – he didn’t show just the nice kitchen and shiny sink or dining and living rooms with nice furniture – he opened his house and said, Lord, this is it.

We need to come before God and open up our lives to Him. Come before the Lord in prayer. Christ wants us to show him everything. We are human and sinners and need His grace to come in and be a part of our lives. You know what the bible says – all our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) because our righteousness is in Christ. We need to come before God with an open heart.

John 17 is a complete chapter of prayers that Jesus prayed. He prayed for Himself, for His disciples and He prayed for the believers. Pastor Lorne said he noticed some interesting things in this chapter of Jesus:

- v10 “All I have is yours and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.” Pastor Lorne said that’s quite a statement. Jesus acknowledged that His followers and disciples brought glory to Him. As true disciple of Christ, our lives would bring glory to God. We might think we’re failures and mess everything up, but we can bring glory to Christ in our lives.

- v24-26 – this is Jesus’ prayer for you and me. It’s one of the prayers for the father to his son. The love God had for his Son. Jesus is praying that you and I, as children of God, will have that love in our heart. He is in you and me in his Holy Spirit in our hearts and our lives.

Pastor Lorne asked us to forgive him but he had another grandfather story: He said his young granddaughter stays overnight sometimes. And he’ll get up early and be reading and doing his devotions and she’ll come downstairs, climb into his lap, and tell him her dreams and other little things important to her heart. Little special times of talking. No one else, no toys, just talk. He said he thought of how we can come to God, crawl on his lap, tell him our dreams and disappointments and they may not make sense to anyone else but to you and your heavenly father. He wants to hear what you have to say.

And the way we can do it is in the avenue of prayer. Even though we feel weak and helpless to change our situations, when you come before God, you have the resources that created heaven and earth.

Pastor Lorne wants to encourage each one of you as a follower to pray. That time you spend in prayer is important to just talk to Him and He’ll talk, listen and encourage you. Just like a grandchild will share, share your little things with God. We need someone to listen without judgment or suggestion. Your heavenly father is that person. Have that time to talk with God and share what’s in your heart.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .
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Mini stories from Sunday

2009-05-07T16:20:00.005-06:00

I'm working on Sunday's message but in the meantime, here's two short stories of other things that happened on Sunday.

Every Sunday, I carry my little typing table to church and set it up in the last row so I can take down the message. Well, this Sunday, I reached for my table and at the last minute I backed away. I remembered a computer desk sitting in the alcove behind the window where we usually sit. The desk was facing the wrong way, but I thought if I sat at it and someone from the congregation saw my back, maybe they’d offer to move things around so I could sit in front of the window while I typed. So, I left my table at home…and stood stunned when I walked into the foyer and saw the desk already in front of the window and the alcove had been enclosed with a wall and door. Wow! Thank you, God. Oh – and Maurice who is leading the work of building a sound room. What a delightful surprise.

With her charming Australian accent, Ashlee gave a report on the youth retreat she and other members attended on Sat. They headed up to the Strasbourg Bible camp and came back quite late. Ashlee said the session was an awesome testimony to what is happening with the youth. She said she saw young 12 and 13 yr olds touched by the words and music, raising their hands in worship. It was really encouraging. Ashlee also said God has been watching out for her and she’s blessed to be able to stay at Pastor Lorne and Dianne’s place. When she left Australia, she didn’t think she was coming here to meet with God, but He’s been showing her stuff and getting closer to her.
Thank you for sharing, Ashlee.

Changes

2009-05-02T22:06:00.003-06:00

Welcome to a new look for Church on the Hill.

I've been having technical problems with my computer and with the little voice recorder I use to tape Pastor Lorne's messages so I don't have a current message for you.

However, I've been trying to find a new layout for this blog and I thought this might be a good one.

The only thing I don't like about it is that there are no buttons for you to push to go to the different pages for the Prayer List, Music, Youth, Sunday School, etc.

What do you think? Do you think it's okay?

Or would you mind if I try another one?

Please leave a comment so I know what you're thinking.

God bless you.

Happy Blessed Easter

2009-04-12T10:58:00.001-06:00

Jesus' Triumphant Entry

2009-04-08T13:24:00.005-06:00

Pastor Lorne started the Palm Sunday service by thanking Kathy for another inspiring banner. He said visitors to the church always pay compliments for our banners and our church is becoming known for them. So, thank you to Kathy for all her hard work. The church is blessed with their presence.

This is Holy Week for those Christians who use the liturgy in their worship

Pastor Lorne said he wasn’t sure how it was back in Jesus’ time, but for us from now until Easter, we celebrate His triumphant entry on Palm Sunday. We remember how He gave His life for us on Good Friday, and then Holy Week climaxes with the joyful day of Easter when we proclaim Christ has risen from the dead. All those important dates to our culture, our faith and the whole basis for what we believe.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to take a few minutes and talk about Jesus’ triumphant entry. In His life, He had high points with great flocks of people following Him everywhere. At times during his ministry, He would say He couldn’t do many miracles due to unbelief, ridicule, and the religious leaders who tried to engage Him in debates to make Him look foolish. At times, He had to slip through the crowd so He wouldn’t be caught and killed.

A high point of Palm Sunday for the people who followed Jesus was that it gave them a glimpse of the future. Pastor Lorne said they’ve been following Revelations in the Bible study and it parallels the Easter story.

In Matt 21:1-11, as Jesus rode through Jerusalem, the people threw their coats and palm branches on the road. Some went ahead and some followed shouting Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!

Pastor Lorne said the word Hosana has a couple of meanings:
-the real literal meaning is ‘Lord save us’.
-but it also means a word of praise and worship to God

So as these people were following Jesus and shouting, they were saying Lord save us and praise the lord. This procession was going through the city and it was a real uproar. In Regina, you probably wouldn’t even notice due to the traffic and everyone inside with their furnace or air conditioning units on depending on the season, but back then, everyone was outside. There were no trucks or buses to hide the sound. Everyone could hear the shouts of the people and they must’ve wondered who was causing it all. The crowds were so happy saying, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Galilee.” Matt 21:11

While the procession went along, hope was rising in the people of Israel. They were living under the roman thumb of rule. They were looking for someone to deliver them. Prophets had said God would send someone and deliver them from all their troubles and problems. From the tyranny of Rome. For a few brief hours, they had this hope of a Messiah taking them away for the problems of other countries running all over them and tearing down their temples.

Can you just picture it? Pastor Lorne said he’s seen movies and pictures on this but do you know it was kind of short lived, wasn’t it? It wasn’t too long before those people who were happy with Jesus turned their back on Him because He didn’t do for them what they expected of Him. They wanted someone to reign with all authority.

It is coming. According to the book of Revelations, Christ will rule and reign with total authority. But on Palm Sunday, so long ago, we see that Jesus came with a donkey, quietly and in peace with people praising and worshiping Him.

Jesus also came humbly. Pastor Lorne said he has 3 donkeys at their place and there’s a big difference between horses and donkeys. When a horse is happy, his head is up and he’s prancing around. Donkeys chug along, big eared and even handling them is humbling. He said it’s good because of the way they walk. Jesus came like the donkey although not quite such a big stride. As one bringing peace humbly, before the people of the day.

Jesus first came humbly and triumphant. But Rev 19:11-14 shows the difference when Jesus comes in the future. He’s coming with a white horse and a whole bunch of different crowns. Following behind Him are angels also riding white horses. Jesus destroyed and defeated his enemies with the sword of his mouth. It finally came to pass. The fact that Jesus ruled and reigned in absolute authority. It was a time peace. No wars because Jesus was there. (Rev 20)

Zacheriah 9:8 is prophesying about a Messiah coming forth in a triumphant entry riding on a donkey. And it’s speaking of a Messiah who will rule until the end of time.

It’s exciting to see how God’s word was fulfilled totally and completely. The 2nd part is still coming. As we read and celebrate his triumphant entry, it gives us just a brief glimpse. Pastor Lorne said he was so glad he was privileged to know about this and made the personal commitment to allow Christ into his life. When Christ comes back if we’still here, we’ll go with Him and if we’ve passed on, we’ll meet him in the air as He’s gathering His children.

So as we go through this Holy Week, Pastor Lorne wanted us to know that even though Jesus was beaten, ridiculed, called a friend of the sinners, and ate with people of ill repute which angered many people, He is the triumphant King of Kings. We read all the wonderful things He did. It’s a privilege we can have a personal relationship with Him. God loves each one of you and He will bring to pass His word.

There’s coming a day when we will be with Jesus and this march into Jerusaem will not compare to Him in glory. That’s the glorious hope we have.

Jesus is triumphant! He is going to win.

We will win in the end because of what Jesus proclaimed.

Pastor Lorne said in this Holy Week, as he studied these things, he could see the human part of Jesus coming out. In the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36) Jesus says, ‘Abba Father," He said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

We have some real hard things we have to go through. We say we don’t want to do this, or we don’t have to put up with that. We just want someone to take our troubles away. Jesus also prayed this but He also prayed for God’s will to be done and then He went right to the cross.

Pastor Lorne said he trusts during this week, you’ll turn your mind to what Jesus has done for you and me. The scriptures say by His stripes you are healed.

Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We have the right to come before God because of Jesus and ask for help with the needs in our lives and the healing in our bodies. Hosanna!

A Glimpse of God

2009-02-27T21:54:00.011-06:00

Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-7, Daniel 7:9-10 , 2 kings 19:28, Prov 21:1,

Rev 1:12-18, Rev 4:1-6, Rev 5:11-14, Rev 14:2,

Pastor Lorne gave us this message back on Feb 15th but I think it’s something we all need to hear.

He started by saying over his lifetime, he’s studied scriptures, read them and preached on them but lately, mainly because of the Wed night Bible study, something caught his eye. He said he never really had a good picture of before in his mind, of what the glory of God really was. So he wanted to take a few moments and paint an picture of the glory of God. How great and majestic He is.

He said sometimes we hear flippant remarks about Him and sometimes people talk about Him as if He was just another guy. We take him for granted. If we need help, we ask what we want and expect to get it. We sometimes refer to him as the man upstairs. Or we see pictures of a frail old man sitting on a throne and kind of looking down. So many times we hear and see God as being a little better and a little stronger than us. Someone who an do more things than we can.

But as Pastor Lorne started to read through scripture, about what some of the people saw and heard from God, he figured if he’d been there at the time, he probably would’ve had a heart attack. He said he didn’t think his human body would be able to stand it. He said they were almost near death from experiencing it because it was just so great and so wonderful.

In Isaiah 6:1-7, Pastor Lorne said Isaiah had a vision of great and wonderful things that caused him to realize how much of a sinner he really was. And as he looked at these things, his cry was, ‘Woe to me I’m ruined because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.' So he was really filled with fear and wondered what was going to happen. He said he was ruined, done for. He’d seen this great vision of what God is like and all of a sudden, the glory and the righteousness of God was in sharp contrast to his own life. So he was in the presence of God for those few moments, he was just totally taken by what he saw.

There are many places in the Old Testament where people had an opportunity to stand in the presence of God. Daniel 7:9-10 says, ‘As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.’

So this is the vision that Daniel saw. Pastor Lorne said if you go back to V7, Daniel describes the beasts as ‘terrifying and frightening and very powerful’. These are things Daniel saw that would happen in the future. Pastor Lorne said he could imagine Daniel just pouring sweat as he saw and experienced all these great and wonderful things.

He said we hear of men and dictators and others who aspire to be world leaders and they say ‘I’m going to do this and you do that.’ And James talks about that and says we can’t take tomorrow and say this will happen because we don’t know what will happen. Things just don’t work that way.

But what does God think about all this? In 2 kings 19:28 God says, ‘Because you rage against me and your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.' Pastor Lorne said if you know livestock at all you know if you put a ring in a bull’s nose, you can pretty well take a 2000 lb bull and control him. Same as a bit in a horse’s mouth. And God says that to this king who thought he was pretty big. So God still is in control. He’s big enough that he can cause people to do whatever he wants them to do.

Prov 21:1 says, ‘The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.’ Pastor Lorne said you know when you have a creek and the water follows along that ditch and goes wherever the ditch is, and God said he would direct that king just like water through the curves and turns in the ditch. God said that’s how that king will have to follow Him. So he uses that as an illustration of how He can control and deal with people.

Pastor Lorne said we’ll go right to the book of Revelations for the next scriptures. He said this is where we really find the greatness of God and how wonderful he really is. He said he trusts in a small way, to be able to paint a picture for us of how majestic and powerful God is. He said he doesn’t think our human bodies can survive being in God’s presence because we are so weak compared to Him.

When you consider what John saw in Rev 1:12-18 and the effect it had on him, no wonder he fell before Him like he was dead. It was too wonderful and too great, he just couldn’t take it all in.

Another illustration of the greatness of God is in Rev 4:1-6 where John saw all these great and wonderful things. Pastor Lorne said reading that scripture gave him another glimpse of how great God really is. How wonderful and powerful is the God that we serve and life for. He said it amazes him as he thinks of those things.

In v4, John then talks about the 24 elders surrounding the throne which threw off flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Pastor Lorne said he could just imagine the loudest and most brilliant summer thunder storm he’d ever been in. A deep rumbling, crashes of thunder, flashing lightning and everything happening around the throne of God. The God we serve isn’t just “the man upstairs”. He’s not this old man. He’s not just some figure that we pray to or lift our eyes up to. Here’s a picture of the greatness of God. The pealing thunder just a roaring. John must have been totally overcome by those things.

Pastor Lorne said when John saw all those lamp stands blazing, he must have looked for a welding helmet to ward off the blazing light. He was unable to stand and look because of the brightness of God.

He said v6 talks about the 4 winged creatures. Pastor Lorne said he was sure John hadn’t seen anything like it. They had eyes all over them, front and back. One had a lion’s face, another like an ox, another like a man and the other one like an eagle. They were covered with eyes all around and they even had eyes under their wings. And they were crying out, ‘Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is to come.' And whenever they did that, the 24 elders would fall down and they would worship God. There would be just a great lot of activity with the thunder and the lightning and the blazing lights and all these people worshipping God.

Pastor Lorne said that would be quite an experience. Something to see. It would be wonderful and terrifying. He said he was sure John would’ve been just quivering as he experienced all these things. Pastor Lorne said it would be a terrible thing – an experience of a lifetime wouldn’t even be a good enough way to describe it. He was sure John was just weak after seeing all that.

Rev 5:11-14 adds a little more to this picture: ‘Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise....’

Now if you do the math about this thousands upon thousands, ten thousands upon ten thousands, it would be millions of angels singing praise to God. Lifting up His name. And the elders and the winged creatures all worshiping God. it would be an amazing experience. It would number in the millions. Pastor Lorne said he’s never seen a million people in one place at one time. That’s quite a crowd. But, he said he could imagine the sound, the noise. Then in Rev 14: 2, John said, 'And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder...' Pastor Lorne said it would be like standing and listening to the volume and force of Niagara falls and yet that isn’t even a good enough illustration.

So all these things is what John saw when he saw God lifted up and saw what His glory was all about. Pastor Lorne said it’s just a little glimpse of how great God is. How wonderful and powerful he is. And majestic. Like they say, it blows your mind. It’s almost too much to imagine. The Bible even says the description John gives doesn’t really even describe God. He describes the throne and everything that happened in the surr just the throne and everything that happens around it. But John only talks about God briefly. Pastor Lorne said he believes it’s because John couldn’t really look at Him. We know that Moses covered his face before he met God. Even the winged creatures around the throne covered their eyes with one set of wings because of the glory of God.

Rev 5:13 says, ‘13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Pastor Lorne asked us if we can imagine what that would sound like, with every creature in heaven, every creature on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea all singing. It would be a choir we can’t compare to anything else.

Pastor Lorne spoke of George Beverly Shea who has sung with great choirs made up of 1500-2000 people and yet all those choirs combined is nothing compared to what the choir in heaven that will bow down before God and look at His majesty and at His Grace. The Bible says every living being on the earth and in the sea will lift up its voice and will say, ‘"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

Pastor Lorne said you and I don’t serve a God who’s rushing around in heaven thinking: this guy’s in trouble, how can I fix this. He just covers everything. He said the thing that really got to him was that even in all His greatness, He still cares enough for you and me to send His son from all the glories of heaven to die on the cross and shed his blood to pay the penalty of our sins.

God cares about our lives. He cares about the things we’re going through. Our aches and pains, sicknesses and heartaches and our situations. Yet Pastor Lorne said he just don’t understand how God can be so concerned with us when you consider all this other stuff going on in heaven with people singing, praising, worshiping and throwing down their crowns. He said in another place, vials of all the saint’s prayers were brought before God and in their time, all these things would be brought to pass.

But to realize that He loved his creation enough to give up His only Son so that you and I could be free from sin so that one day we will stand before that throne and we’re going to put our crowns down before Him. We’re going to worship Him and we’re going to praise Him. And we’re going to say, ‘"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" And that’s just going to be one marvelous day. It’s going to be terrific!

Mat 11:28 says ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ Today, even though God is so great and so wonderful, He wants to give you rest in your heart and in your soul. He tells us in Scripture that in this life, we will have tribulation and problems but He will give us rest.

Pastor Lorne said he fails at telling us how great and wonderful God really is. He said in heaven, people are worshiping God. Worship and praise going on all the time. He said as the Keller’s go back up to lead worship, if we couldn’t lose ourselves in the presence of God...

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

Gospel Music Concert at COTH

2009-02-16T00:10:00.004-06:00

Everyone is welcome

Please join us for an evening of Country Gospel music.

Valentine Dessert Fundraiser a Success!

2009-02-15T00:20:00.028-06:00

Holly-Lee Lambert drove 4 hrs from Westbourne, MB to sing her country gospel songs for us on Friday night. Wonderful love songs entertained the 60 or so adults and youth gathered in the Church on the Hill basement.
The Annual Dessert Auction is the main fundraiser for the Youth Group. Already this year, the youth are asking to go out on mission trips like Street Invaders to work with troubled youth on the streets.

Youth leader Noelle said this year, area merchants stepped forward to support the fundraiser without even being asked. Donations included:
- Solar Light Set by Sluser's Garage
- Bath Beauty Set by Fairmont Farms
- Afghan made and donated by Rose Pollock
- Valentine Snack Bowl Gift Basket by Perras Family Foods
- Original Painted Rock made and donated by Celine Giroux
- 2 x Free Brunch Gift Certificates from Charlotte at the Glenavon Bakery

With the teens in charge of the night's entertainment, they invited 5 couples to play a fun game of 'Tell Your Mate How to Find Your Shoe'. The wives were directed to politely tell their blindfolded husbands where to find their shoes in the pile. Once the hubby had the shoes in hand and still with their blindfolds on, the hubbies had to put the footwear on their feet. This was a very entertaining game. I believe Erin and Ben won the prize for this game.

Kevin Lackey drove up from Weyburn just to be our volunteer auctioneer for the evening. The first thing he did was pick Pastor Lorne as his ring man. His next thing was to instruct Pastor Lorne how to be one.

With youth member Samantha's help, Kevin started the auction with the donations from the local businesses.

Youth member Jessie displays a Chocolate Mint Torte.

Youth member Nicholas has bid and won some cupcakes. Now he just wants to dream about them.

Rose made and donated this warm afghan.

The highest bid of the night ($130) went for this tray of Chocolate Cream Puffs. (below)

25 items were donated to this year's Dessert Auction. Total money raised for the Youth Group was $1600.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in even the smallest way to the success of this night.

Valentine Dessert and Auction Night

2009-02-12T05:37:00.006-06:00

Please join us for the Church on the Hill Annual

Valentine Dessert and Auction Night

Feb 13 at 7:30 pm

Entertainment by Holly-Lee Lambert

Desserts Auctioned off by Kevin Lackey

Come on out for an evening of music, sweet desserts and coffee and a chance to bid on something special to take home.

All proceeds go to the COTH Youth Group

You Have Great Power in Prayer

2009-02-07T20:16:00.008-06:00

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8, Gen 4:26, Luke 18:9-14, Jonah 1-2,
Matt 19:13, Mark 10:16, Matt 7:11

Pastor Lorne continued with his message on prayer. He said it’s such a big subject, he found literally pages of refs to do with prayer. He said it may seem like a very uninteresting thing to do. He said it may seem like it’s something just for older ladies. But he said according to scripture, prayer is a vital part of all of our lives because it has such great power.

He said it bears repeating from last Sunday that no matter what other people think of you and how important you are whether in your family or community, when you get alone and you start to pray, and call upon God, you become very, very powerful because, you are calling upon God the creator of heaven and earth. You’re talking to Him and maybe you’re asking Him to do something or touch some person’s life, maybe to help them in a situation, or bring someone to the Lord, and you may think you’re not very influential, but when you’re down on your knees before the Lord or in whatever position you chose to pray in, Pastor Lorne believes you become very, very strong. He said he doesn’t think we can even describe the strength you have when you pray.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to tell us what the teaching of Jesus says about praying:

Luke 18:1-8 1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary. 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

You’ve heard how the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or the crying baby gets the milk. This is almost like what He’s teaching us here. The judge in the story has this woman coming and bothering and bothering him and he says he’s just going to listen to her story and look after her situation. And Jesus said, how much more will your heavenly Father who loves you, who cares for you, who sent his own Son to give His life for you – how much more will He hear you and answer your prayer on your behalf. So we know, if we cry out to Him, He will hear. And sometimes we wonder when that answer’s going to come, but He does answer and he does hear all of our prayers. Pastor Lorne said he was wondering when people first started praying. He said the first time he knows of it in the Bible is in Gen 4:26 'Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.’ And that is the first time in the Bible that people prayed. From that day until now, people are calling out to God. Some call out because they love and care about Him. Some call out because He’s their last hope. But, it’s still going on and it will go on until the day the Lord comes back and gathers His children to Himself. And then because we are with Him in all the glories of heaven, we won’t need to pray anymore. It almost sounds too good to be true, but everything will be perfect. God’s going to take a big hankie and wipe our tears and all our sorrows will be gone. And we will stand in the presence of the Lord. But until then, the human race needs to pray. We need help. We need to bring our troubles before the Lord.

Then in Luke 18:9-14, we find ‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:’ Pastor Lorne said it’s a well known parable but for some reason when he was reading it this time, verse 9 caught his eye. The parable is the one of the 2 men who went up to the temple to pray. One man was a Pharisee and the other guy was a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed about himself. He said, ‘God I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evil-doers, adulterers. Or even like this guy.’ And he looked at the other guy. Talk about being confident and self-righteous. The tax collector wouldn’t even lift his eyes up. He stood with head bowed and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner’. And Jesus answered in ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

So we see in that scripture, he just called upon God. He didn’t lift up all his deeds and good stuff. That really doesn’t impress God very much. Pastor Lorne said he remembers Shania Twain singing a country song, ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’. And he wonders if sometimes God says that as we list all our good stuff.

But this man in the parable just came before God and said, Lord be merciful. And Pastor Lorne said he believes that if we come before God with that kind of a heart and that approach, them God will have mercy on us. And God will hear our call as we cry out to Him.

Pastor Lorne thinks of the man Jonah (Jonah 1-2) who was in the whale’s belly for 3 days. He said when he gets to heaven, he’s going to find Jonah and talk to him about that. How he spent 3 days inside there. Oh man! When he came out he must’ve been as white as a sheet and bleached from all those digestive juices in that whale’s belly. But the Bible tells us that after awhile, Johah cried out to God and the whale hiccupped and out he came and lived to tell about it.

There are people in heaven whom it would be great to sit and talk about their experiences, but that time will come.

Another scripture that talks about prayer is Matt 19:13 ‘Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them.’ But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. ‘ Pastor Lorne said he just wanted to briefly share that as he sees in scripture, Jesus took time to pray for little children. And as he looked over the children and grandchildren in the sanctuary, he finds that you never finish being a parent. He said he used to think after high school graduation, it’s done and finished, but it doesn’t work that way. These little children came to Jesus and Jesus blessed them and laid His hands on them. The parents brought their children to Jesus. Mark 10:16 says ‘And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.’

Pastor Lorne said he encourages you in your prayer life to pray for your children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews as well as your neighbors’ children. Just lift them up before the Lord and pray for them or anyone else the Lords lays upon your heart. He said Jesus was upset when the disciples tried to send the kids away. The disciples thought Jesus was only concerned with the adults, but Jesus believed it was important for the little kids to know Him and be blessed by Him.

Pastor Lorne said he thinks about Paul writing to Timothy about the faith in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice and he imagines they prayed for Timothy because he became a person who loved the Lord and did good work for Him.

Matt 7:11 says, ‘If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ In this story, Jesus is seeking and knocking and then He asks the people if they would give a stone if He asks for bread. Or if He asks for fish would they give Him a snake. And if they can give Him those things, then how much more will their Father in heaven give them.

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to leave us with the encouragement that when you pray, you have great strength, great power, and you can expect an answer because when you pray, our heavenly father will give you good things. He will answer your prayers. He will not give something that is not good.

He encouraged you to develop prayer in your life. He said it’s good to have a Bible and gospel music, but you don’t need them to pray. You can pray while you’re driving down the road. You an pray while you’re working around the house or plowing the field. You can seek God and know that He hears and answers your prayer.

So take a few minutes every day, if you can, to seek Him and pray. And know that He will hear you and answer. Remember, you are really powerful when you pray and you can make things happen by your prayer and faith in God.

He said he supposed if he asked everyone in the congregation, they could give an example of answered prayer. It might a little thing that doesn’t’ matter to anyone else or a big thing that would cause our faith to rise but know that God answers prayer. So don’t sell yourself short. Realize that you have great power when you pray.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/
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Prayer and Faith Go Hand-in-Hand

2009-01-30T15:41:00.005-06:00

Scripture: James 1:2-8 , Heb 11:1, and 11:6, Matt 21:18-22, John 15:7

Pastor Lorne started his message by telling a story about a fella who was visiting a church where the pastor stood up, spoke for about 10 mins and then was finished. That was very unusual for the pastor as he usually had long sermons but as he neared the end, he apologized and said it was because his dog likes paper and ate the rest of his notes. When the service was over, the visitor shook the pastor’s hand warmly and asked, ‘Does your dog have any pups? ‘Cause I’d like to give one to my pastor.’ (laughter)

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to draw our attention to prayer. He said when he got into it, he realized he had to talk about faith as well because he said the more he tried to separate the two, that’s kind of where it went.

He asked us to open our Bibles to James. He said when you get into reading James your realize he doesn’t mince or sugarcoat words. You know exactly what he means. He just tells them plain and straight as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit. James 1:2-8 says ‘2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.’

Pastor Lorne said James is speaking about the fact that we have to face trials in our life. He said he didn’t think there was anyone in the congregation who hasn’t faced some trial or problem that may be unpleasant. Maybe something that was difficult that you had to go through. James said we are to consider it a joy when we face trials and adds about persevering and to ask God if you don’t know how to get through. God gives generously without finding fault or laying down a bunch of rules and regulations for us.

Then in v6 James says, ‘...he must believe and not doubt...’ Pastor Lorne thinks the greatest reason for unanswered prayer is because we doubt. We look at circumstances and being human, the doubt rises. Pastor Lorne said he might be the only one but maybe you have that same experience. James is very straight and clear on this. He says you must believe and not doubt. He said the guy that doubts when he prays is kind of blowing around here and there and doesn’t know where he’s at.

There’s only one thing that’s important for us when we come to God in prayer and that is that we come in faith and not doubt. Not questing, not wondering but He asks us to pray in faith.

Heb 11:1 says ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Pastor Lorne says he likes the King James version where it says: its the evidence of things we don’t see. So when we have faith, we’re certain of what we hope for, we know what’s going to happen and it’s the evidence of things we don’t see.

If you need a new or better car and you’d like a Nissan Ultima, when you pray you say you need a new car because your old car is worn out and falling apart. But in your mind when you pray, do you see the old car that’s falling apart or do you see the new Nissan Ultima? When we pray and ask God for something, it would almost seem we almost need to have in our mind a picture of what we want God to do. That doesn’t mean you have in your mind a picture of a Lamborghini and expect God to give it to you. But then it probably wouldn’t work out in this country anyway – the bottom of the Lamborghini is so low, it would get caught up in the snow drifts. (laughter)

It seems that our faith sees what we are praying for before we ever see it.
Sometimes we just have to put our faith and our trust completely in God and just believe that He will bring these things to pass.

On one of Pastor Lorne and Dianne’s trips to Hungary, they took a plane from Regina to Calgary. Pastor Lorne said he hasn’t flown a lot, but he’s never been on a flight like that before or since. He said there was heavy cloud and turbulence. The plane was just dropping. He said you could hear it creak and crackle. They were sitting in the back and he was thinking that sometimes these planes break and the back end falls out. It was so bad the stewardess even sat down and buckled herself in. But Pastor Lorne had been at the Calgary airport before and he started to visualize it. He said he had to trust the pilot who he didn’t know and had never seen but was somewhere in the front of that plane. He said all kinds of things went through his mind like, did they check the oil? Fill it with gas? They had to put their faith totally in the unknown pilot. He said if you think back to the accident in the States this past week, you realize that some of these pilots have real God-given abilities to bring the plane down. So there they were with the plane creaking and cracking and they could feel the plane going down and Pastor Lorne said he looked out the window and he could see the airport and they arrived safe.

Pastor Lorne said sometimes in our life there is cloud and turbulence and all kinds of things. But, we need to put our faith in Christ. To know that when we pray and call on Him, that He hears us and then He answers us.

Pastor Lorne said in your prayer life, if you want your prayers to be answered - maybe you have family you’re praying for or a neighbor or a friend. Maybe you’re wondering about a new direction in your life. Maybe it’s finances. Whatever it is, when you pray and seek God, Heb 11:6 says ‘...it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists that he rewards those who earnestly seek him’.

The first thing we have to believe is that God exists. Pastor Lorne said when he was on that plane, he didn’t see the pilot but he knew he existed and was flying the plane and he brought them in totally safe.

So, when you come to Christ, you must believe that He is and that He will reward you and that he’ll answer your prayer when you call out to Him. It’s so important to believe and trust when you pray.

In Matt 21:18-21, it was early morning and Jesus arrived hungry at the fig tree and thought he’d get something to eat but the tree was all leafed out without any fruit. And Jesus said, in v19 ‘May you never bear fruit again.’ The disciples watched as the tree dried up right before their eyes. Some of the disciples didn’t believe it and that’s when Jesus said in v22 ‘If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Pastor Lorne said that’s quite a statement. He said prayer is a very important part of a Christian’s life.

You might think there must be something you have to do. Or it can’t be that easy. Here’s what Jesus said to his disciples in John 15:7 - ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.’ So, if we are living for Christ and in Christ and we have His word in our hearts and in our lives then we will be asking for things that are right. Asking for things that will bless people and bring people to the Kingdom of God. And we won’t be asking for Lamborghini’s and penthouses and all those kinds of things that cost thousands of dollars. But if we are with Him and He is in us, we can ask anything we wish and it will be given to us. So, Pastor Lorne wants to encourage us to ask Him in prayer.

Pastor Lorne said in closing, we may think we’re insignificant - that maybe we live in a farm in the sticks (as city people would say) and think we don’t amount to much in the economy of things. We’re just one person...maybe not even too popular...we don’t always have our name or photo in the paper... not too important at all.

But Pastor Lorne wanted you to know that when you lock yourself in your bedroom or your car and go to the Lord in prayer, as weak and insignificant as you feel, you become a very powerful person when you pray. You can literally move heaven and earth when you pour out your heart to Him in prayer.

So often, we sell ourselves short. But when you pray, you can bring change to people’s lives. You can change the heart of those who are in government and positions that make the legislature and laws that we have to live by.

And, like Pearl testified last week when they prayed over the fridge motor, bring even the little things of life that would be boring to others to God and ask Him to fix things. He says He will do it.

Pastor Lorne said you are so powerful, that you can literally shake the gates of hell with your prayers. Jesus said, if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Pastor Lorne stressed that you are not to sell yourself short and say you are of no importance. The devil in hell will tremble when you come before the Lord in prayer and avail yourself of all the power of God and everything God wants to do to this world. Don’t doubt it. Just trust Him.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

5 Testimonies

2009-01-18T20:10:00.003-06:00

Pastor Lorne asked if anyone had a testimony on Sunday morning and the following people responded to his call:

- Lorette – She awoke this morning and realized it’s been 5 yrs since they started attending this church. She thanked God for calling Richard to come to this church because it made such a difference in their lives. They were missing so much, not attending any church. They needed to hear the word of God and be with Christian believers and it’s just filled their hearts, lives and homes. God has blessed them richly and they are so thankful they have Christ in their lives.

- Rhonda – She’s had a partial healing and is feeling so much better. One step at a time. There are still places she needs to be touched by the Lord but she’s on her way. She can stand and even stood to worship this morning. She thanks God for all the church mbrs and their prayers and friendship. Especially the Keller family who kept stopping in and ministering to them. She said they have no idea how much their little visits meant and blessed them so much. God is good.

- Tammy – She found a part-time position in Fillmore which is a lot closer for her to go to work. Praise God.

- Frank and Pearl – Their fridge had a bad squeal to it. Pearl said she first anointed the top and prayed over it and it worked for about 3 hrs. Then she anointed the housing over the evaporator coils and motor and again it worked for a little while. And then this last Mon, she felt God was telling her to try again so she had Frank take the motor right off and this time both of them laid hands and prayed – it made perfect sense to them – and there hasn’t been a squeal since.

- Kathy – She wants to thank God for the wonderful relationship she now has with her mother. She didn’t have it when she was growing up as a non-believer. But now, thanks to Him, they talk and laugh like any regular mom and daughter. She said if it wasn’t for Him, it wouldn’t have happened.

Pastor Lorne said God gives us things we ask for because he loves us. Sometimes it’s little things and sometimes it’s big things like a job or healing. God just wants to bless our lives.

Please remember Rhonda and the rest of the people on the prayer list.

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You Can Have a Personal Relationship with God

2009-01-13T23:03:00.004-06:00

Scriptures: Acts 4:32-37, John 17, Phil 4:4-7, Acts 12, 1 John 1:9

On Sunday morning, we had just finished singing ‘His Eye is On the Sparrow’ when Pastor Lorne took the pulpit and announced, “Well, isn’t that a great thing to know.” He said out at his farm in the wintertime, those sparrows are just a nuisance and to think that God watches over them. And, it’s good to know that He watches over us.

He said it’s one of the things to know about serving God. He said some other religions don’t view God in a personal way but it’s so good to be a Christian and know the God we serve and try to live for is a God who cares about us personally. He doesn’t just look down at the church, or the town, or the group of towns and see a bunch of people but He sees you and He sees me. He knows the things that we’re going through. He’s concerned. He cares about us.

Pastor Lorne said in the scriptures that Nastassja read for us earlier (Acts 4:32-37), it talks about all the believers sharing what they had. He said if you read through that, he doesn’t believe they sold everything they had, put it all together and divided it out equally to everybody. He said he doesn’t believe that’s what the scripture’s talking about. He said to think about it – if they sold their houses and their land, where would they live? How would they eat if they had no land to grow crops on? He said he got to looking at it a little closer and maybe it was extra parcels of land and extra houses that they didn’t really need to make a living on. So, they sold some of that so that the people who were in need would have something to help them and live on. Because they didn’t claim their possessions as their own but realized it was through the mercy of God that they had what they did have.

Acts 4:33 it says, ‘With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.’ And so because of their care for one another, because of their willingness to give up their extras to help people who had problems and needs in their lives, it says they could give witness to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead with great power. And the grace of God was upon them. He was blessing their gathering of the people together.

Pastor Lorne said this caused them to be a..."well, pardon the expression but ‘one big happy family’". God was blessing the church as they met together. This is part of what Jesus had prayed for. Last week he spoke on John 17 and the prayer of Jesus. A whole chapter in the Bible is given to what Jesus prayed for. He said he wasn’t going to go back and read it but he wanted everyone to turn to John 17:20-21 – ‘20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.’ Here, Jesus’ prayer was for those who were going to believe in him – not just for those in His day, not just for His disciples – but also for the ones who heard about Jesus from the disciples and so on down the generations.

Jesus prayed that we might all be one – a real group of believers in the church with a unity.

And do you know that Jesus prayed for you many, many years ago that you might be one with other believers? That you might have Him in your life? That you might be connected to Him just like He was connected to God, His Father? That was the prayer He had for us so long ago.

In John 17:24 Jesus says, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” Here, Jesus prayed that He wants all of us to see Him in His glory. You know, according to what the Bible teaches, I believe that’s going to happen. Some day we are going to see Jesus in all of His glory and in all of His splendor when the day comes where we get to meet Him in heaven.

He said it’s important thing for us to have a personal prayer time. It’s a special time where we talk to God about our needs, about how we’re feeling, about how great He is in our lives, the great things He’s done for us, and all those things.

Pastor Lorne said a ‘body of believers’ is just a term that means a group of people who meet to worship the Lord together.

Prayer is a very important part when a group of believers meet together. In our church organization, they want to start project called, ‘A Church A Day’ where each church will take a day and get together for that 24 hr period to pray whether at the church or in someone’s home. They want it so that 365 days a year, believers are praying for one another or people in need. Here in Canada even with the downturn in the economy, we still have so much to be thankful for compared to other countries. Think about it and we can be a part of it if we wish to do so.

Phil 4:4-7 says, ‘4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ Here Paul is writing to the Philippian church and says we aren’t to be anxious as a group of believers or to be worried about things but rather, ‘present your requests to God.’

We have that great avenue that we can take our worries, our sorrows, our loneliness and whatever in our life and lift it up to the Lord in prayer. We don’t have to worry. We won’t be able to understand, but the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds

Pastor Lorne said he wanted to encourage you to pray for your own needs and the needs of others like we do regularly in church and as we will be doing at the end of the service.

The Bible says because of the peace of God we don’t have to worry. Yes, there are things we have to concern ourselves with and Pastor Lorne says we have to have some kind of way to make a living so we can pay our bills. So our minds have to be on that for a time but when all these things come down and weigh down so heavy upon us, we can pray as a body of believers and also individually. We can trust God to know and that He will be there to help us and keep and protect us

Pastor Lorne said Acts 12 about Peter in prison is almost comical when you think about it although he’s sure it wasn’t at the time: v4 ‘After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.’ Peter was kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying for him. So there’s Peter in prison with all those guards around him keeping him safe so he wouldn’t get away so they’d be able to bring him to trial. Pastor Lorne said he wasn’t going to read the whole story but an angel came and Peter’s chains fell off and the angel led Peter past the guards and through the streets and to the house where they were praying for him.

Acts 12:12-17 reads, ‘12.When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.’

So here, the body of believers were praying for Peter to be released from prison and when he was miraculously released from the prison, he could hardly believe it himself – he thought he was dreaming – and he went to the house where the prayer meeting was taking place. And they didn’t believe it was Peter and yet, Peter was there at their door.

A body of believers – a church – praying for somebody in trouble. God heard their prayer and delivered Peter from the chains and guards of imprisonment.

From this, we see that a church bands together and seeks God and asks God to do some special thing or fill some special need. There’s great power in it and it does move the hand of God. So as a church when we pray in unity for someone, it’s not our power but God’s power that makes the difference and makes it work. It’s a wonderful thing to have when there’s no hope - that we can turn to God in prayer and know that He will hear and answer your prayer.

Pastor Lorne said ideally he’s a perfect person, he never makes any mistakes, he always treats people properly, is always considerate and compassionate, and always does what is right. That’s ideally.

But what sometimes happens is that he’s inconsiderate, that he doesn’t treat people properly and that he’s sometimes not as kind as he should be and all that.

He said ideally, he’s a perfect husband but his wife could tell you different. (Laughter) That’s why he’s so happy with the scripture found in 1 John 1:9 ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Pastor Lorne said he is so happy that when he asked Jesus to enter into his heart and life to be his Lord and Saviour, that Jesus did. That when he makes a mistake, or falls and commits a sin, that God is there to forgive him and that because of the blood shed on the cross of Cavalry, he can go and ask forgiveness and God forgives him and keeps forgiving him. Pastor Lorne said he’s sorry to say God has to keep doing it over and over again because he’s human and he tends to fail and to fall. But, he said, with his confession and Jesus’ blood, God will forgive his sins.

He said he wanted to encourage you with all these things of being a believer and the unity of being a group of believers but the most important thing that we as a church can do or have is to be careful in our walk with the Lord and to have that right relationship with Him.

When Jesus prayed in John 17, He wanted them to have a relationship with the Father. So Pastor Lorne would encourage you - each day of your life – to have and to work on that relationship with Jesus. We get involved in our work and in our relationships with other people but the most important relationship that you can have is the one with Christ.
Treasure it...it’s precious and it’s the best relationship you can ever have.

Pastor Lorne said he’s so thankful he doesn’t have that relationship with Christ because of all the good things he’s done. Or, because of all the money he’s put in the offering plate. Or, for all the scripture he’s read, but because Jesus shed his blood on the cross of Calvary and all Pastor Lorne has to do is to trust Him by faith.

Pastor Lorne said he’s so thankful that every one of you don’t have to look back and think you’re such a terrible person and that you can’t be part of a church or you can’t be part of God’s family because of all of those things that you’ve done in the past. He’s so thankful that when he goes to Christ, He doesn’t look at all the bad things he’s done. When he stands before God, his righteousness will be the righteousness of Christ.

That is the relationship that is so important to each one of us and to know that it is only by faith in Jesus that we can have that personal relationship with God. It’s not by what we do or don’t do but our faith in Him.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

Joseph: The Unsung Hero

2009-01-04T17:12:00.003-06:00

Scripture: Rev 3:20, Luke 2:15-18, Matt 2:1-3, Luke 2:25-32, Matt 1:21-21,

On Sun, Jan 4th I did not attend church due to illness, so I don’t have the message for you, but I do have it from Sun Dec 28:

Pastor Lorne thanked everyone who took part in the Christmas program in whatever way they helped whether in the performance or behind the scenes making the set, decorating, food prep, cleanup, etc.

Pastor Lorne said we had a treat coming as Maurice would bring the message to us and he appreciated him doing it. He said if anyone feels the Lord is speaking to them and they want to share it, just let him know. Pastor Lorne said he jealously guards the pulpit towards doctrine that might not be right or good for everybody but when someone has the word of God within them, he’s willing to share. He said we can’t all be preachers, then qualified that by saying well, we could but...

He said some are preachers, some lead worship, some teach Sunday School, others do other things that maybe aren’t up front and we don’t see but they’re done and are needed. And he believes when we stand before the Lord we will all be rewarded for what we do.

Pastor Lorne said he was just thinking...he then looked over at Maurice and said he wasn’t taking anything from him and would be done in a minute (chuckles in the congregation)...he continued by saying he believes God rewards people for their faithfulness in whatever you do. Whatever you feel your place or position and feel God has called you to do that, and some of you don’t even realize that you are doing things that help the church, help other people but God has a reward waiting for you and he said we thank you for your willingness to do that.

Pastor Lorne then asked Maurice to come up and share the word of God with us.

Maurice started by thanking Pastor Lorne and saying his words tied in with the message and that’s always the work of the Holy Spirit. He said being that we’re still in the Christmas season (Ukrainian Christmas isn’t until Jan 7th) and the story of Jesus born in Bethlehem in the account of Luke, he was going to speak about a bunch of metaphors which tie in with the Christmas story. He said he loves metaphors because they make a comparison or bring an illustration where you can really see or absorb it.

Maurice said everyone in the Christmas story represents one of us. He said Mary entered Bethlehem carrying Jesus. In a sense, she was carrying the good news of the gospel. The first place Mary knew to go is to a hotel or in this case, the innkeeper. And we know the story well where the innkeeper says, ‘sorry, we have no room’.

How many people in this day and age say they have no room for Jesus in their life? The picture that comes to my mind is in Rev 3:20 where John writes, ‘I stand at the door and knock...’ Let me in and I’ll come sup with you.

So, when they’re at the inn, they knock on the door and the innkeepers says, ‘Sorry, I have no room.’ You would think in the condition Mary was in, he would have gone out of his way to accommodate her since she was about to give birth. But in the end, all he could offer was the stable which was out of the way of the travelers of the day.

The shepherds showed up after the angel had announced what was taking place in Bethlehem just a little ways away. In Luke 2:15-18 says, ‘When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.’ So that tells us Jesus was making a big impression even as a small infant. The shepherds were telling everyone what had taken place. In essence, they were evangelizing way before anyone else was.

Then we have the 3 wise kings...it’s always 3 but we’re really not sure of the number of kings...only that there 3 gifts. There could’ve been 2 or 22 kings for all we know. There is also nothing to indicate how much time passed between the shepherds and the magi. In Matt 2:1-3 ‘After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.’

So, we have these magi who show up and need a bit of direction where to go. The guiding star brought them part ways and by asking directions, they were able to pinpoint exactly where he was. So if you were to ask them if Jesus was hard to find, they’d probably say, in essence, no, Jesus was not that hard to find, which kind of reflects back on us.

Was Jesus hard to find? No, not when they went looking for Him. But Maurice said in his own life, he was an innkeeper for many years where he had no room for Jesus in his life. But Jesus wasn’t hard to find.

Maurice said we just read where they (the magi) went to Herod for directions and in his hypocrisy, he gave directions and asked them to report back so he could go and worship Him. That was pretty mean-spirited because he had an ulterior motive in mind where he wanted to destroy Jesus and even kill all boys 2 yrs of age and under so that Jesus wouldn’t have a chance.
That too reflects certain people in real life. People go out of their way to kill the gospel so the gospel will never be preached again – to snuff out the Good News.

Then if we go to Luke 2:25-32: ‘Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."’ So here, Jesus is just an infant, and yet he’s making an impact on Simeon. This was probably during the time when Jesus was brought to the temple for circumcision and it would be the equivalent to a baby dedication. But here Simeon was, a devout believer, just waiting for something to happen. And once he saw Jesus, he said Lord, now you’re letting your servant depart in peace. He was ready to die because he had seen Jesus close up.

Maurice said another metaphor he found was the stable itself. He said we probably thought he was digging deep here but, God wanted to make it very clear He came to save each one of us. He comes to the slimey, dark corners of our existence complete with cobwebs and dust. He comes to unswept barns and cold nights of despair, just as we are, so He can start the clean-up process.

One other individual who Maurice said is often overlooked in the Christmas pageants is Joseph himself. He’s really the unsung hero.

Joseph walked with his fiancée Mary for several days to get to Bethlehem in time for the census to take place. And several weeks later, Joseph, Mary and the infant moved again – this time to Egypt – to escape Herod and the death sentence that had been imposed on Jesus.

There are Christmas carols connected to everything to do with Christmas: angels, shepherds, trees, drummer boys, reindeer, kings bearing gifts, Mary herself, but there are no Christmas carols about Joseph.

In all the Christmas pageants and plays held across the country year after year, the person who plays Joseph stands in the stable beside angels, shepherds, kings, camels, sheep and the occasional dog. Joseph never has more than a line or two to say. From this it would seem as if Joseph doesn’t have a very big role to play in this story but in reality, he’s the glue that holds it all together, and keeps it together.

Matt 1:18-19 says ‘This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.’

Here’s were we get a glimpse into Joseph’s heart. Joseph could’ve left Mary to fend for herself. He could’ve gone public and exposed her to ridicule and shame and in those days, that wasn’t something that went over well. It would’ve been a full scandal and Mary’s life herself would probably have been in danger.

When Joseph was asked to go forward with the task of being the earthly father of Jesus, he chose to protect Mary at whatever the cost or sacrifice to himself. And, he chose to keep her pregnancy a secret for the time being. Joseph’s tenderness and concern for Mary is a good example of God’s grace in action.

We talk about defining moments – in Joseph’s case, it would have been the result of the dream he has in Matt 1:20-21 ‘...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

That was the central theme of that first Christmas 2000 yrs ago and it’s still the central theme in 2008. The secular world of commercialism that’s attached to Christmas nowadays can leave a person wondering what Christmas is all about. But, the theme and the message has not changed nor is it about to change.

If we go back to Joseph and his dream, he awakes and does as an angel instructed him and took Mary for his wife. He became her shield and guardian even though it seemed the child had little to do with him. He accepted his role with willing obedience. None of this is attributable to Joseph in a thousand nativity scenes. You would think someone would have picked up on the significance of Joseph’s role to the new born Saviour and talked about it and written a hymn or Christmas carol about him. And yet the fact that Joseph isn’t celebrated today is strangely appropriate for this man who reacted to his trial with grace and humility.

And maybe there’s another metaphor here if you look back at Joseph’s life and what he did. As Jesus himself later taught in his ministry, those who are first will be last, and the last, first. So Joseph, being one of the first, soon took a back seat in the story of Jesus. His obscurity results from his blending into the background so early in the story. It’s his commitment to guide Mary and Jesus to safety that earned him the reputation of protector and guardian. After that, the gospel falls silent on him and like Mary, he doesn’t appear again until the crucifixion.

In all of Jesus teachings and parables, we don’t hear anything else about Joseph – at least nothing that could’ve been recorded in the gospel. And yet, in this one story we learn of his character, his tender heart, his willingness to serve and his willingness to obey. But it’s in the light of the circumstances that he was put in that we are able to see these things about him. And maybe, that’s the challenge for all of us:
Do we remain committed and faithful in the face of adversity? Do we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to carry us through?

The lessons of Joseph’s life in this Christmas story should strike a chord in all of us.

Pastor Lorne thanked Maurice and said it’s just great how God uses people in different ways. And yet, everyone is so important. He said if it hadn’t been for Joseph, as Maurice had mentioned, how he took Mary and Jesus to Egypt – looked after them, protected them, provided for them – for all those years.

Pastor Lorne mentioned again that we were very important with God and that whatever God’s called you to do whether it’s just to shake hands with people and give them a smile, bless them, encourage, them...whatever it is, remember what you do is needed and valuable in the kingdom of God.

He said the message really helps us to take heart. It lays a path for us in the new year. He said in the new year, you always reconsider your life and how you’re going to do new things. This lays a path or foundation in the coming months to do whatever we can do and that we are important in the kingdom of God.

Time to End the Old Year

2009-01-03T16:12:00.005-06:00

Well, it's Jan 3rd and I guess it's time to take the Christmas stuff down although I really don't want to.

So, stay tuned and I'll have another post ready soon.

Meanwhile, here's one more photo from Dec:

On Dec 21st, we were blessed by a musical performance of Nikita on the flute and Desiree on the Sax. Keep at it, girls. You're doing great.

The Christmas Play

2008-12-25T01:48:00.039-06:00

On Monday, Dec 22nd, Church on the Hill presented a play called, It's A Boy.

The story involved many members of our church including the children from Sunday School, the Youth Group and other adult members of the congregation.

It started with a young girl asking her father to read the Christmas story:

Angels announced the coming of the Saviour as a small child in Bethlehem.

Shepherds were watching over their flocks when a heavenly host of angels appeared and told them of the birth of Jesus.

Mary and Joseph laid the baby Jesus in a manger in swaddling clothes.

At this point in the play, a Biblical teacher and her students speculate on whether the young Mary would have allowed her precious baby to be held by the shepherds and others who visited him.

A young girl in Japanese costume heralds the arrival of the 3 Kings, also known as Wisemen, from the East.

The play continued with readings as represented by a modern day teacher an her students...

...as well as by adult members of our congregation.

The complete cast of It's A Boy:

Christmas Program Monday Night!

2008-12-21T19:11:00.003-06:00

You are invited to the Church on the Hill Christmas program:

'It's a Boy'

on Monday, Dec 22 at 7 pm.

The cast of characters are the Sunday School children, Youth Group, and adults from the congregation.

Here's a sneak preview of the set...just ignore the guys hanging up the palm tree...

We'll also have a couple special songs by the newly formed COTH ladies choir. I heard them practice today, and they sing wonderfully together.

After the program, we'll head downstairs for food and fellowship.

So please join us.

Special Flute Music

2008-12-20T22:48:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday, Nikita provided offertory music on her flute.

Her friend Desiree attended her by turning her music book pages.

Thank you, girls.

He Came Because the World Needed a Saviour

2008-12-12T01:31:00.010-06:00

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6, Luke 2:11, Luke 19:9 &10, John 3:17, Acts 5:38-39, Heb 7:25

Pastor Lorne started his message by saying Christmas was just over 2 weeks away and he hadn’t completed his shopping yet. He’d only bought one gift so far. Then he added, he was doing much better than other years! (Laugher)

He said with Christmas coming, he wants to talk abut the Lord’s coming to earth so he directed us to read Isaiah 53:1-6 with him. Pastor Lorne said he had some questions in his mind so he was going to answer them out loud so we all could here his answers. He said he wondered why this all had to happen. Wasn’t there some other way, or something else that could’ve been done?

He said when Nelson prayed during the communion, he said ‘You didn’t have to come to earth but you did’. The Bible says Jesus’ death was in God’s great plan, right from the beginning...that Jesus was going to come to redeem the world. We needed a Saviour.

In Luke 2:11, the angels came to the shepherds. This was the first announcement of the birth of Christ and the angels said, ‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’

Pastor Lorne said there’s a few things he found interesting there. First of all, the fact that the angels came to shepherds. He said when they were visiting in Hungary, shepherds weren’t highly respected members of society. They were generally poor, made the most minimum wage and lived in a caravan or trailer for months at a time. Once in a while, the owner would bring out groceries, necessities and wine to keep them there. Shepherds are loners. And yet, these are the ones the angels announced Jesus’ birth to – of all people. If the angels had gone into the city, they would have reached a lot more people.

And in Jesus’ time, the shepherds were so poor and they wouldn’t even have had the caravans they do now, yet the angels when to them. In all there life, this would be the greatest thing that every happened. Pastor Lorne said in his lifetime, this would be the greatest thing to happen if angels came down with music to announce such a thing.

Jesus came into this world because the world needed a Saviour...someone to deliver them from all the troubles of this world. In Luke 19:9 and 10 we find Jesus is growing and has begun his ministry. The story behind these verses is that Zacchaeus was a tax collector who was hated because he took too much taxes because he was the kind of man who took whatever he could get and he wasn’t very popular. Starting in v9, it says, 'Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." So, Jesus came to save the lost. In another place in the Bible, Jesus said those that are well don’t need a doctor.

Pastor Lorne said to turn to John 3:17. He said he really likes this Scripture for it’s message of assurance and hope: ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.’ So, Jesus didn’t come as a prosecutor to condemn us, but the Bible says he came to save the world through Him. So, Jesus didn’t come to show us how bad we were and all the awful things we’ve done, but the Bible says he came into this world to save it.

He didn’t come to bring condemnation. Jesus came to bring salvation. He came to bring hope where there was no hope. He came to bring forgiveness where people could not find it. This is a message that’s been going forward through the ages and men have tried to stop it. The devil has done everything he can to bring it to naught but still, the message Is prevalent and continues to go out

If you look back at the story of Paul and Silas, they were in prison. And yet when they went to bring them to court, Paul and Silas weren’t still in jail, they had escaped and were preaching in the temple. So they brought them in but this wise man in said - Acts 5:38-39: ‘Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.’ Wise words we can take with us today.

So, this message that Jesus came into the world as a Saviour is so powerful, that the greatest forces in this world tried but couldn’t stamp it out. Men over the ages have tried without success.

Heb 7:25 says, ‘Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.’ So again, you find the same word – He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him. A Saviour.

Jesus came as a Saviour for anybody in this world. It doesn’t matter if they’re Jews or Gentiles. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in their lives. Anyone can come to Jesus and in his love and mercy, He can save them. Again, ‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’

Pastor Lorne said as we approach Christmas Day, we prepare for it. He said if we don’t and the day just arrives, we’re disappointed. He said it’s doing all those things that prepare for it. And when we come to it, we realize it’s all about a Saviour comng into the world.

He said you might think you’re doing all right, but there are people in this world, in Canada and even in this province, who really need a Saviour. People who need a touch of the Holy Spirit to lift them up and deliver them from whatever situation they’re in today. He said he thinks of children and teens who are born into homes of drugs, alcohol and abuse. They need a Saviour to deliver them...give them hope...touch their hearts...give them an understanding that they are loved. That the God of creation loves and cares for them.

The reason Jesus came to this world was to bring hope, understanding and love. And to let people know that in God’s eyes, they are special. And that he loved them enough to send his Son Jesus into this world to die for us and then rise again.

Pastor Lorne said his friends were down in California on a visit and came back to the wind and snow of our Canadian winter and the winter’s just starting. We have 2 or 3 months left. But that wasn’t even close to what Jesus had to endure. Jesus left a glorious and beautiful heaven to come into this sin-ridden world and He lived here as a man and died and rose again because we needed a Saviour.

And so this Christmas, when you consider that baby in the manger, Pastor Lorne wants us to think that He came as a Saviour because we needed a Saviour. We can rest in faith and trust in Him knowing we have a Saviour who takes away the sins of the world and can make it right so that one day we stand before Him.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

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Are You a Good Christian?

2008-11-26T14:47:00.003-06:00

Pastor Lorne started his message on Sunday, Nov 23rd by talking about the apostle Paul. He said Paul had travelled all over and had seen many things and yet, of all the things he’d seen, he only wanted to know Christ.

He said we are members of the Pentecostal Assembly of Canada. But, are we good Pentecostals or Christians? Is he, as our pastor a good Pentecostal? Are you a good Pentecostal?

What is the actual requirement to be a good Pentecostal or Christian?

Rose called out ‘a good steward’. (laughter)

Pastor Lorne said, ‘Rose has been to bible Study!’ (more laughter)

But, he continued, what does it require to be a good Christian or a good child of God?

John 14:15-17 says, 15’If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.’ So, we have to be a person of God’s Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:9 9’You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.’ And so, again, it emphasizes the Son of God lives in us. That’s what makes the difference in our lives. We aren’t controlled by our sinful nature but by God’s Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 Before Jesus was taken into heaven, He instructed his disciples to wait and this is the statement He made: 8‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’

We know being a Pentecostal or a good Christian means the Son of God has come into your life to be a power of strength and witness to Him. The Son of God is a big part of our Christian life. He leads and directs us. You might be in a situation where you’re drawing a blank. You can’t think of any appropriate words to say to someone. And then a certain scripture or certain words come into your mind. Do you believe it’s the Son of God?

The Holy Spirit can be there to direct you and lead you and give you the knowledge you need at that certain time. The disciples were called to give a reason for their faith. You don’t have to worry about it because the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say when you need to say them. As a good Pentecostal, as a good Christian – when you are confronted in a situation you don’t have the resources for, the Holy Spirit will be there to give you the right words to say.

Pastor Lorne said he believes the Holy Spirit will come into our lives at the time we need him.

It is so important for people of God who desire to be ‘a good Christian’ to know that God and His Son and the Holy Spirit are there to live with you, to direct your life and lead your life.

A good Christian or a good Pentecostal – is also a person of faith. We’ve heard testimonies of faith.

Heb 11:6 says 6‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ We, as children of God, need to have that trust. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

1 John 5:4 says 4‘For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.’ And so again, the scripture talks about how we can overcome the things of this world. It gives us the power and strength to stand above these things. It says we can experience victory that overcomes the world. To be a good Christian, we need to be people of faith.

Romans 5: 1-2 says, ‘1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.’ Grace is received from God. We don’t buy it. We don’t earn it. We can’t work for it. But, by faith, we receive it.

To be the person God wants us to be, we need to step out in faith.

Because of faith, things have happened. People have been healed. People have been helped. A person who is a good Christian is saved by grace. By grace alone. Pastor Lorne said he’s so thankful for that. He said you’ve all experienced it before. He said everything he’s talking about here today, you’re already doing it and he knows you’ll continue to do it.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says 4‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.’ Grace is a gift of God. Our salvation and to be a good Christian, we need to be saved by grace.

Titus 3: 5 5‘He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.’ Because of His mercy. Because of his grace.

So, to be a good Pentecostal or a good Christian, we need to be people of the Holy Spirit and people of faith - totally trusting Him above all else. We also need to realize that we are saved by grace through faith.

Pastor Lorne said he believes someday you are going to hear the words - ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant' - when you stand before the Lord.

We don’t know when it is. He’s coming back a lot sooner than we might think and he’s coming back for those who trust in Him. Are you ready?

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this, please email .

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/

Youth Report - Wrecked

2008-11-22T22:35:00.011-06:00

Last Sunday, Pastor Lorne invited 3 members of the Youth Group to give a report on what they were up to the week before when they attended Wrecked at the Regina Youth Retreat. (Jason, a 4th mbr also went but wasn’t at church on Sunday.)

This was going to just be a small part at the top of the blog but as I transcribed it, I realized Jessica’s report was enough for a post alone, so this will be the Youth Report and the next post will be Pastor Lorne’s message.

Nick said he was involved with the Evangelism workshop. He said the leader told them how they go to different houses sharing their faith. He also showed them videos and a commercial. Nick said they watched a Daffy Duck cartoon. It showed that things don’t always go your way. Another video he remembered was something about Germans (I believe he meant Hitler) and how things aren’t always what they appeared to be. Apparently, the video showed a normal vehicle but it had springs underneath. Boing.

N ext, Samantha spoke about attending a workshop on art. She was told to draw what God put on her heart to draw and then to interpret it in a ‘God’ way. She showed us a picture with what looked like a dark frame around the outside. Sam said we are like that when we try not to let God in. The middle of the picture was a collage of colors. Sam said God wants us to be happy when we believe in Him.

Finally, Jessica spoke about ‘A Glimpse of Street Invaders’ which is a micro-version of the Youth Missions program, Street Invaders based out of Eston where our youth group attend a retreat each Spring. For the actual Street Invaders program, youth attend a one week training session before hitting the streets, in communities across Canada and share their faith.

For this micro-version, however, they condensed a three week program into a 4 hr workshop. The first hour on Fri night was spent getting to know about Street Invaders, listening to the leaders share their faith, and taking part in practical exercises. The leaders stressed you had to keep praying for each other.

On Sat, the youth broke into 5 teams and went out to work the Street Invaders program.

Jessica said:

One team went to Sobey’s, the grocery store, to bag and carry people’s groceries and they also handed out free hotdogs. They said this was really interesting because they were aiming people who weren’t really that poor and everyone was saying, ‘Well, why are you giving me free food? I don’t need it’ and stuff. And they (the team) were working that way.

There was one team that went to Victoria Park and they had a sign that said, ‘Free Hot Chocolate, Free Donuts, Free Prayer’. So, they were handing out free hot chocolate, free donuts, and they had a really good opportunity—there was one man who was drunk and he was talking to them about God and how he used to be a Christian but then his son died. They (the team) were really ministering to him.

The 3rd team went to the University and they had a survey. The guy who was leading this team goes to the University a lot and really has a heart for the University ministry and he uses the surveys to get people talking about God and aware of their faith.

The 4th team was the one Jason was a part of and they went to a church in North Central Regina where they have a youth program where every Sat. The youth come and they give them a free meal and play all these games with them. After, the leader of that team said Jason was really shy at first but in the end, he was the one going to the other kids and getting them to participate and was building friendships with them. And he (Jason) was really excited about them and was telling me after, that he was playing basketball and competing with them and how they were asking him about God, and he seemed to enjoy that.

My team was called The Love Bus. I don’t remember the name of the church, but they have a program every Sat (* see below) where they take the bus and go to all these different houses in Regina where these kids live. These kids are living under impoverished conditions and are really poor. They pick them up and bring them to a park in Regina, give them all a free lunch, play with them for an hour, pray with them, then they go back.

But, because this was on the Sat of the Rider game, they didn’t have enough volunteers to do what they usually do, because they all had season tickets. This jived with our schedule so it ended up working really well. So, we did what they call house visits. We took the van because we didn’t have enough people for the Love Bus, and we went to the church first and we helped them make these lunches. We made 48 lunches and each one had a sandwich, a juice box and cookies and candy. So, we made all these lunches and then went out to all these different houses. We’d go there and Donna, the woman running it, would get these kids to come out. We’d stand in the yard because their parents were in the house and they didn’t really feel comfortable with us going in. So, we’d stand in the yard and just play games with them and get to know them. One girl loved to sing so she was telling us about all these songs she’d written about God. We played tag with them, and catch with one kid and this one guy was showing us his stuff and we really got to know them. We’d give them their lunch and pray with them before going on to the next house.

And, it was really crazy because I was with 5 other girls on my team. We were with out leader, Craig. It was really funny because every single girl on my team absolutely loved to sing so, in the vehicle between the houses, we were all singing these songs and Craig was laughing because he doesn’t really like to sing at all, but he enjoyed listening to us. And we’d go to these houses and the kids like to sing, too and we were singing songs with them.

The Love Bus program doesn’t always have enough volunteers to pick up the kids every Sat, but they make sure that every Sunday, they use the bus to pick up all the kids and bring them to church for Sunday School. So, they (the kids) know all these children’s church songs we were singing with them.

Craig is a Bible school student and he’s been on mission trips to Africa and all over the world and he was saying these kids in Regina were in the worst condition he’s ever seen. Even worse than Africa. Like, you’d go to their houses and there was garbage all over the yard and the windows were boarded up because they didn’t have any glass in them. In this one house, they were missing a pane of glass in the middle of the door and the kids didn’t open the door, they’d just run through the pane of glass because there was nothing there. Every house we’d go to, the kids would be bursting out the door as soon as we got there and they didn’t have shoes or proper coats or whatever, so, they’d be bursting out the door and they’d be so excited to see us and just wanted to get to know us.

And, it was really awesome and really encouraging because these people in the program make sure—every time they’re there—they tell them about the word of God and pray for them and these kids were really growing. And, some of them—like there were two 12 yr olds we went to and they are set to become leaders in their church and they grew up in horrible conditions—their mothers are prostitutes or on drugs and these kids are growing up and learning about God.

So yup, that’s what I did.

Pastor Lorne thanked the youth for their reports and we showed our appreciation by applause to these kids who are young ambassadors for our church. Lori led us in a prayer for the youth and teenagers who serve God and witness for Him.

* Just Kidding - This outreach is for inner city children who are picked up on a bus on Saturdays. They are treated to snacks, singing, games and the gospel. They need volunteers to drive the bus (class 2 license), donations of treats and Christmas gifts. For more info, go here http://www.loveliveshereregina.com/

If you’d like more info on Street Invaders, go here http://www.streetinvaders.ca/index.html

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Words for Life: My Times are in Your Hands

2008-11-16T15:51:00.002-06:00

Dianne Bonk is guest blogging today with her Words for Life column :

This past month we have been given the opportunity to vote. We are fortunate enough to live in a democracy where we have the right to choose our government. Sometimes we feel that we are inundated with all kinds of political views and promises, trying to persuade us to their way of thinking. We have just had our Federal election, and this week we are listening to the results of the American election. We can get caught up in the debate, become strongly emotional over specific issues, or become nonchalant and not give any care to the event. We can have our own opinions, but ultimately the persuasion of political preference we choose will deal with the issues.

So, why bother to vote? It is our right and responsibility to voice our choice. But how can we know whom to choose? And how does my faith in God apply to my vote?

David said in Psalms 31 that he had put his trust in God. He affirmed that God was indeed His God, and that his times are in His hands. When David become King of Israel, he reaffirmed that commitment, and even though he stumbled along the way, God was always near, ready to help him in times of trouble.

Now, how does this apply to us? Well, individually, we can commit our times into God’s hands. And we can choose to pray for the leaders of our governments. In fact, we are encouraged to pray for the leaders of our country. All the complaining in the world will not have as much effect on conditions around us as will a quarter hour of prayer! God is mindful that we are men, that we need his care, and his wisdom.

Religion and Politics? Some say they don’t mix. But, yes they do if we commit our times into God’s hands, pray for our leaders, live lives that are exemplify good values, and affirm that God is in control.

Your Father is Waiting With Open Arms

2008-11-13T20:34:00.009-06:00

Scripture: Luke 15

Sunday, Nov 9th was Pastor Appreciation Day.

On behalf of the congregation, Murray thanked Pastor Lorne and Dianne for their faithful service.

Maurice Giroux delivered the message so Pastor Lorne could sit in the pew, relax and enjoy a much deserved day off.

Maurice started by thanking Pastor Lorne for giving him the opportunity to spread his wings. He said we were sort of his guinea pigs. (laughter)
He said we may have guessed from the Scripture reading that today’s message was on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Here is Maurice’s message:

Luke chapter 15 has a theme of lost things. There’s the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, more commonly known as the Prodigal Son.

Luke 15:1 and 2 says, ‘Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

That really bothered the Pharisees. As far as they were concerned, they could tell a lot from an individual from the company that person kept. The Pharisees considered tax collectors to be religiously unclean, disloyal, dishonest and disreputable. As agents working for the Roman Emperor, they were equal to pariah. But the Pharisees considered themselves to be very diligent observers of the law. As religious leaders, they claimed to know God and were offended by the kind of people Jesus attracted.

It is precisely these types of people Jesus wants to address. He tells these 3 parables in an attempt for the Pharisees to see themselves in these stories by metaphorically putting a mirror before them.

The Pharisees, in fact, know far less about themselves and God than they really think they do. I want to focus mainly on the 3rd story Jesus tells the Pharisees: The Story of the Prodigal Son. The previous 2 stories of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin cannot even be compared to the anguish of a parent’s heart when a child goes missing. And a very different yet real panic when a grown child wanders morally or spiritually.

So, we get back to the story of the prodigal son asking his father for his share of his inheritance. Some experts in Middle Eastern culture said the young man is really expressing a wish for his father to die. A father could initiate a discussion about inheritance, but never a son. No doubt a tense discussion would have taken place—each one producing reasons and arguments to back up his wishes. The father finally relented and agreed to divide his estate. Two thirds going to the older brother and one third to the younger one, as was required of Jewish law up to that date.

And so, the younger son leaves home determined to be totally independent. His intention at that point was to cut all ties with his family and past. When the reference to a distant country is made, it can only mean Gentile country characterized by pagan values. The story goes on to say that he squandered his wealth on wild living. He might have been living a fairytale life but his real life choices brought consequences. Furthermore, bad choices usually bring bad consequences. His money runs out and the reality of real life drives him to desperation. By now he’s hungry and he’s willing to hire himself out to work on a hog farm.

Can you see the irony here? Jewish law forbids him to eat pork, yet here he is willing to eat anything put out for the pigs and even compete with them for something to eat.

As far as the Pharisees were concerned, the story could have ended right there. They would’ve said, ‘Well, that’s what happens to a sinner’. Or, they might have said, ‘He’s getting what he deserves’. Or, they might also have said, ‘He should’ve stayed there until he comes to his senses.

But Jesus is the one telling the story and he’s only half done telling it. He tells the second half of the story in such a way because he wants the Pharisees to see themselves in the older son who stayed home. And to see the parallel that the father represents Almighty God – The Father.

So, we pick up the story of the young man competing with the pigs for some food to put in his empty stomach. The story says the son does come to his senses. He was beginning to understand the glories of his father’s house. He desperately wanted to be back home even if he had to be a hired servant. In his heart of hearts, he knew he could claim nothing more. And, he was okay with that. He knew he was going to be talked about, criticized, and made fun of by the local community. But, if that was the price, he was more than willing to pay it.

But, we know from the story that this father is no ordinary figure who disowned his son and shoved him out of his heart because when the boy is a long way off, the father sees him coming home. This is where the story takes a sharp turn. The Pharisees are not ready for this part – nor do they agree with it.

Here is a father who is not only willing to receive his son, he has been looking for him. He runs down the road to greet him: he has a special robe for him, a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. ‘Bring the fattened calf’ he said for this is indeed a special occasion ‘For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' (v23,24)

The Pharisees really had a problem with this part of the story. This boy should not win his father’s approval so easily. And it would be reasonable for this boy to do a period of penance before any celebration should take place. But as Jesus tells the story, the father is God the Father and he just painted a word picture describing grace. God celebrates over the child who has come to life. He doesn’t just accept the prodigal son, he rejoices with him. This is a god the Pharisees do not know.

Quite often, the story ends here, but there’s another character in the story you don’t often hear too much about and that’s the older son. He’s out working in the field and when his workday comes to an end and he heads back home, he hears music and dancing. After asking a servant, he finds out his younger brother is back home, safe and sound. He becomes quite angered. His father comes out to plead with him to join in the celebration, but he absolutely refuses. This older son has a duty here as a special occasion and that is to act as his father’s special assistant as a co-host but he has no intention of playing such a role. He makes it quite clear he disapproves of his father’s actions. In a nutshell, this son would rather not have the fellowship with his father than accept his father’s treatment of his younger brother.

This is how it’s revealed in the story: The Pharisees would not have fellowship with Jesus because of his treatment to people the Pharisees considered to be lowlife. By taking this approach, they were putting themselves outside the Father’s house.

I just want to read to you a brief passage from a book that really gave a lot of insights to this whole story. It’s by Gary Inrig:

'But there was a fascinating omission in the story – there is no ending. Did the older brother enter or not? We are not told because that is precisely the issue the Lord set before the Pharisees. And, before us. To reject the Father’s gracious treatment of the most unworthy of Him is to deceive ourselves about our need for grace and to forfeit the fellowship with God that is based on grace alone.

As long as the Pharisees stayed angry at the grace shown to sinners, they stood outside the Father’s house.

The awful possibility is that we too can be in the Father’s field as servants but not really in His house as sons or that we daughters. We may be moral and respectable, but because we have never truly known the Father, who is loving, gracious and welcoming, we are like the older brother. To such, the Father’s appeal is, ‘Come in’.

Or, we may be in a far country, scattering the resources to which He is ultimately the giver. Perhaps the money has run out, the famine has come in, and we have reached the pig pen. We despair of ever being accepted in the Father’s house. To all such, the Lord’s story shouts, ‘Come home’.

The bottom line is this – what we know of God is seeing in how we view ourselves as lost and how we view others as lost.

God’s heart aches over those who are lost. God’s heart rejoices over those who are found. How well you know Him is revealed by whether or not we ache and rejoice as He does.'

If you'd like to speak to Maurice about this topic, please email.

Who is Jesus? Find answers at: http://www.who-jesus-is.com/
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